A renewed push to develop a county road
classification system and a road maintenance plan based on that
system unfolded during a work session following Tuesday's regular
meeting of the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners.

Interim County Administrator Bob Jasper said
reasons for the push were twofold. First, Jasper said developing a
road classification system and a maintenance plan are critical steps
in the current administration's efforts to deal with a legacy of road
problems. To this end, funding for roads was listed as the county's
top priority in the 2006 proposed budget, and developing a
classification scheme and maintenance plan follow a number of recent
steps to improve roads and road related services. Those steps
include: an autumn full of weekly road work sessions, the board of
commissioners' approval to purchase updated snow removal equipment
and the hiring of five additional road and bridge workers and the
adoption of revised road and bridge design standards.

Secondly, Jasper said, although the current
board policy is to maintain and provide snow removal on all county
roads except private roads and United States Forest Service roads,
resolution No. 2004-64, passed in November 2004, actually prohibits
county-wide maintenance and snow removal operations.

Under the terms of the resolution, road
maintenance is linked to a road's eligibility for Highway Users Tax
Funds (HUTF) and the resolution lists those roads that can be legally
maintained by the county.

The current county policy runs contrary to
the terms of the resolution, and Jasper said the push for the
classification system and maintenance plan was needed in order to
rectify the oversight.

In addition, Jasper questioned whether
limiting and linking road maintenance to HUTF funding was the
foundation from which to build a road maintenance plan. Jasper said
HUTF funds should be maximized but that they provided just a piece of
the overall funding puzzle.

During the work session, Jasper, Archuleta
County Engineer Sue Walan and department of public works asset
technician Sheila Berger, presented a series of maps, outlined road
classification definitions and offered two proposals for a road
maintenance plan based on a road's designation within the presented
classification scheme.

The first proposal would provide maintenance
on arterials, collectors, recreational access roads and rural
collectors.

Under the second proposal, maintenance would
be provided to the same road designations as the first proposal with
the addition of a fifth group of roads called "local access
roads."

Jasper said the two plans were an attempt to
strike a balance between what is fiscally feasible while being as
inclusive as possible. Jasper cautioned the commissioners against
attempting to take on more than was financially possible.

"Reaching a solution you can't afford is a
recipe for disaster," Jasper said.

Jasper added that either plan could be
modified as circumstances or situations change and that both
proposals were designed for the long term.

"We need to look at not what meets the needs
of today, but to look out into the future. We need a consistent
planned approach to maintenance for the long term," Jasper
said.

Although there was some dissention between
Archuleta County Commissioner Robin Schiro and county staff regarding
road classifications and classification definitions, the proposals
drew staunch support from commissioners Mamie Lynch and Ronnie
Zaday.

Lynch said the time for debate was
over.

"I'm personally sick and tired of not
getting anywhere. We can debate this for months, but it's time to
bite the bullet and act," Lynch said.

Jasper echoed Lynch's sentiments and said
years of civic strife regarding road issues had divided the community
and he said it was time to stop arguing, and to focus efforts on
problem solving and the future.

Although Tuesday's work session was an
important step, solving the county's road issues and developing a
maintenance plan is not without its challenges.

Both Jasper and Zaday said equity issues
loom large and must be seriously considered when developing the final
maintenance plan - add the Fairfield settlement and questions of
county liability into the mix and equity questions become even more
complex.

Another layer of complexity unfolds when,
"You are having to retrofit a road system over one that's already
been built," Berger said.

After Tuesday's meeting, Walan said the
commissioners will study the proposals and provide further
recommendations to county staff. County staff will then fine tune the
proposals and will bring them back to the commissioners for
additional review. A public hearing will then be scheduled in
January.

Town imposes new big box
moratorium

By James Robinson

Staff Writer

With developers prospecting for a location to build a 500,000
square-foot commercial center, the Pagosa Springs Town Council
unanimously approved an emergency ordinance temporarily halting big
box development within the town boundaries.

Tuesday's decision to approve the moratorium came following a
meeting between an unidentified project developer, Town Manager Mark
Garcia and Town Planner Tamra Allen. During the meeting, Garcia said
the developer outlined plans to build a commercial center with a
250,000 square-foot retail space along with a strip component of
272,000 square feet on a 60-acre parcel south of U.S. 160 across from
the Pagosa Country Center and the westside City Market.

Garcia said the developer's preliminary plans looked much like the
commercial strip center which currently houses Durango's Wal-Mart.

A crowd was packed into the council chambers to hear the council's
decision, and once the moratorium was approved the jubilant group
gathered outside to discuss the victory.

"We're very pleased. I think the community was startled by the
size and scope of the development," said Angela Atkinson of the
town's Big Box Task Force.

Garcia said the six-month moratorium, which expires June 15, will
allow the town the time it needs to complete various planning
projects such as the Comprehensive Plan, the Downtown Master Plan and
the impact fee study.

In addition, Atkinson said, the moratorium allows the town's Big
Box Task Force to complete its work in providing recommendations the
town council can use when considering and crafting future big box
legislation.

Earlier efforts to approve a big box ordinance failed in August
when town council members called some of the task force's data into
question and expressed concern regarding the use of square footage
size caps which were key in the failed legislation.

Atkinson and Garcia said the town council and the task force
intend to work closer together, with the task force operating under
more clearly defined parameters and guidance from the council.

In a brief discussion with Atkinson during Tuesday's meeting, town
council members agreed that future big box legislation should
incorporate design guidelines and that square footage caps should be
instituted in the downtown area.

The question remains whether size caps should be instituted
outside of the downtown area and whether town and county big box
planning efforts can be coordinated.

Operation Helping Hand
deadlines near, donations needed

The deadlines for Operation Helping Hand are
drawing near and many more donations are needed to ensure a Merry
Christmas for 193 families consisting of 245 adults, 302 children and
52 senior citizens who have requested assistance for this holiday
season.

Program organizers coordinate the charitable
work of area civic clubs, churches, business organizations and
individuals.

Used items needed

Organizers are getting numerous requests for
used furniture, blankets, pots and pans, VCRs, DVDs and electric
blankets. These items, which organizers say can be "used, but still
usable," should be brought to Coldwell Banker The Pagosa Group or
Jann C. Pitcher Real Estate on Put Hill or Bank of the San Juans on
Hot Springs Boulevard by Tuesday, Dec. 13. The Kiwanis Club of Pagosa
Springs assists with this portion of Operation Helping Hand by
sorting the items, and assisting program recipients with locating
items they need.

Toy outreach

This branch of Operation Helping Hand
provides an opportunity for children to get involved in the
program.

Parents can help their children select a toy
or toys they no longer use, but which are still in good condition,
for donation. Used bikes, Playstations, stereos and CD players are
especially high on the wish lists of many young people. Donations
should be brought to Coldwell Banker The Pagosa Group or Jann C.
Pitcher Real Estate on Put Hill or Bank of the San Juans on Hot
Springs Boulevard by Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Project Empty
Stocking

Volunteers have written over 1,500 requested
items on paper stockings at both City Markets. These requests range
from socks and underwear to snow boots, pants and coats. To fill one
of these requests, remove a stocking from the board in City Market,
then purchase and wrap your gift, attaching the stocking to your
package so the gift will be delivered to the correct individual or
family. Take your gift to Coldwell Banker The Pagosa Group or Jann C.
Pitcher Real Estate on Put Hill or Bank of the San Juans on Hot
Springs Boulevard by Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Secret Santa Toy
Tree

This program seeks to provide at least one
new toy to each child in need this holiday season.

There are tags at the Chamber of Commerce
Visitors Center and both City Market locations for each child
registered with Operation Helping Hand. There are a variety of
requests for toys in all price ranges. Requests this year include
dolls, Barbies, dishes, cars, models, CDs and CD players. To be a
Secret Santa, choose a tag and deliver your newly purchased, wrapped
toy to Coldwell Banker The Pagosa Group or Jann C. Pitcher Real
Estate on Put Hill or Bank of the San Juans on Hot Springs Boulevard
by Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Snowflake Program

Volunteers at Community United Methodist
Church are participating by assisting families with their holiday
needs in cooperation with Operation Helping Hand.

Christmas food boxes

Food donations are always needed for
Christmas dinners. It is the goal of Operation Helping Hand
volunteers to provide the ingredients for a holiday dinner to those
who otherwise would go without this holiday season. Nonperishable
items may be brought to Coldwell Banker The Pagosa Group or Jann C.
Pitcher Real Estate on Put Hill or Bank of the San Juans on Hot
Springs Boulevard by Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Civic organizations and church groups have
united to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure as many holiday
season needs and wishes as possible can be accommodated.

Questions about Operation Helping Hand may
be directed to the message line, 731-3735. A volunteer will return
your call, if necessary.

Monetary donations can be made to Operation
Helping Hand account No. 6240417424 at Wells Fargo or account no.
20014379 at Bank of the San Juans or mailed to Operation Helping
Hand, P.O. Box 1083, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

District deals with water
quality issues

By John Middendorf

Staff Writer

Water quality was a major topic at Tuesday's Pagosa Area Water and
Sanitation District board meeting, with the primary focus on issues
regarding Hatcher Lake and its water treatment plant.

The board studied a Briliam Engineering report which charted
monthly total organic carbon (TOC) levels of both raw and finished
water for the three treatment plants (Hatcher, San Juan and Snowball)
for 2004 and 2005. TOC levels are directly linked to the formulation
of dangerous disinfectant by-products created when chlorine is added
as the final water finishing step. Hatcher has been plagued by excess
levels of TTHM's, a disinfectant by-product, recognized as a health
hazard by the EPA and strictly regulated.

Baseline or "goal" TOC levels for finished water is two milligrams
per liter (mg/l). Snowball and San Juan TOC levels are generally
acceptable, showing only a few spikes above two mg/l related to
runoff rates and seasonal temperatures. Hatcher, on the other hand,
consistently show levels of TOC's at twice the baseline level.
"Although we don't have industry and other contaminants in the water,
mother nature does a pretty good job of polluting our water," said
Gene Tautges, district assistant manager.

To combat the excessive TOCs, the district recently completed an
extension of the Hatcher Lake intake pipe to approximately 300 feet
towards the center of the lake, where Solar Bees aerate the water and
the water intake is further removed from decomposing organics along
the shore. No data is available yet, but district engineers expect
TOC levels at the Hatcher treatment plant to be significantly reduced
by the extension.

The district recently completed an enlargement of the backwash
ponds used to clean the filtration systems. The backwash pond
enlargement is also expected to improve water quality, according to
Tautges. Additionally, the district will begin implementing a
systematic hydrant flushing system which, by increasing flow through
of water, reduces the levels of chlorine that must be added to the
water to ensure proper residual chlorine levels.

For 2006, PAWSD is investing over $5 million in new resources. The
bulk of this new money, funded by a bond issue, will be used to
enlarge Stevens Reservoir and to create a new Stevens treatment plant
(using an advanced membrane filtration system). Approximately $1.5
million will be used for new granulated activated carbon (GAC) beds
at the Hatcher treatment plant, which are installed between the
filtration and water chlorination systems. The GAC beds significantly
reduce TOC levels.

The district is also actively investigating additional treatment
methods. Potential methods include UV disinfection (which would
replace the need for chlorine if it weren't for the necessity of
residual chlorine disinfectants for possible post-treatment
contamination), and a chlorine dioxide system (which oxidizes TOCs
prior to the filtration process). District engineers have completed
testing on two different chlorine dioxide systems and plan to
implement a system at Hatcher in 2007.

PAWSD is also building a 1 million gallon clearwell water storage
tank at Hatcher which will improve the district's ability to fine
tune the chlorine levels for water purification, according to Patrick
O'Brien, professional engineer for Briliam Engineering.

A new issue affecting Hatcher is the discovery last summer of an
invasive species of aquatic weed called the Eurasian Milfoil.
Eurasian Milfoil is a highly aggressive plant which can congest
waterways and crowd out native plants. In extreme cases, a milfoil
dominated lake becomes covered with a flat, yellow-green matted
vegetation creating the perception that the lake is "dead." It is
often transported from lake to lake on recreational boats. More
problematic for the water quality, the presence of milfoil can
exacerbate algae blooms, which increases TOC levels. Eradication of
milfoil can be difficult, with wholesale methods often affecting
native beneficial plants, with the preferred method requiring manual
extraction of individual plants.

Water quality is an ongoing challenge for the water district's
managers, who "anticipate things (regulations) will get tighter,"
said Tautges.

To pay for the improvements, the PAWS board is currently
discussing fee increases. Impact and water resource fees, charged
when there is a change of use or when lots are further subdivided,
are expected to increase. The board discussed alternatives to
increases in general usage fees and the monthly service charges, with
new rates expected to be implemented prior to next June's water meter
readings.

In other matters discussed at the board meeting:

- The board approved its proposed 2006 budget and mill levies.

- The Dutton Ditch project was reported mostly completed with
"everything in the ground," according to Carrie Campbell, district
manager. There is still some clean-up and reseeding to be done. Three
cubic feet per second of water has been travelling through the pipes.

- The PAWS district board is still hoping work at Stevens
Reservoir will begin in 2006. Three "biggies" still remain, according
to Campbell: the Army Corps of Engineers' wetland mitigation
requirements, ongoing land negotiations (other than moving forward
with one land owner, there's "not a whole lot of progress," on that
front, said Campbell), and the final design of the reservoir itself.

- The district office expansion hit a snag requiring a $5,000
change order when "excess groundwater" was found on the premises,
said Campbell.

- The smoke testing program was cancelled this year, but is
expected to take place in 2006.

- The toilet rebate program is "still rolling," with The Spa Motel
coming in on the last day of the 2005 program with 11 toilet
replacements. Approximately 65-70 high-volume toilets were replaced
this year, compared to 50 last year.

- In lieu of a infrastructure project expected to cost over
$25,000 as designed by Davis Engineering, the board decided to
purchase a pressure booster pump for one resident on Cameo Court who
reported zero water pressure at the house one evening. The pump is
expected to cost $600 to $700. Cameo Court has the lowest water
pressure in the entire district.

-The board approved a $1,000 payment to the Western Weather
Consultant's cloud seeding program after a short debate on the merits
of the program. One board member likened cloud seeding to "throwing
darts with a blindfold," but all agreed that it was a "cheap
insurance policy."

Inside The
Sun

Kiwanis offers chili supper
Friday and Saturday

By Frank Schiro

Special to The SUN

Certain things just seem to conjure up thoughts of the holidays -
the lighting of the community Christmas tree, watching the annual
Parade of Lights, listening to the Community Choir perform seasonal
songs, and enjoying a warm bowl of chili on a cold winter's eve.

The Pagosa Springs Kiwanis Club is prepared to bring at least one
of those nostalgic events to life for the enjoyment of Archuleta
County holiday gatherers.

The entire community and visiting friends are invited to join
local Kiwanis members at their annual Holiday Chili Supper. Warm
chili and drinks will be served up to all guests 4:30 to 7 p.m. Dec.
9 and 10 at the Pagosa Springs Community Center.

The supper should provide a heart- and tummy-warming start for
enjoying the parade of lights Friday evening at 6 or the Pagosa
Springs Community Choir Concert on either night, directly after the
chili supper concludes at 7.

The minimal charge of $6 for adults or $3.50 for kids covers an
ample amount of chili and a drink for all guests and, more
importantly, provides funds that go toward local Kiwanis Club efforts
to help area kids. Some funds are used for activities such as buying
books to support the Reading is Fundamental program at Head Start in
March.

Other moneys will be applied to supporting the Week of the Young
Child in April. Still other dollars will be allocated towards the
three or more scholarships that are given to seniors who are pursuing
technical or non-traditional studies.

For more information on Kiwanis, the club welcomes anyone
interested to join them at one of their lunches that are held every
Thursday at noon at the Hog's Breath.

That's where local community men and women who care about reaching
out to Pagosa's kids meet. Why not be one of them?

Three suspects find new home in
Pagosa ... in jail

By John Middendorf

Staff Writer

Pagosa Springs police received a call at approximately noon, Nov.
30, from an employee of First Southwest Bank on San Juan Street,
reporting suspicious activity outside the building.

According to Det. Scott Maxwell, three occupants of a mini-van
with New Mexico plates parked in the lot of the bank were observed
"changing clothes out of a backpack." One of the three, a male, had
attempted but failed to open an account at the bank, "but did manage
to draw attention," said Maxwell.

When officers arrived, said Maxwell, the occupants had walked away
from the vehicle, and a check of the license plate indicated the
mini-van had been reported stolen in Albuquerque from a car rental
company. Two male suspects were then observed outside the downtown
City Market near a pay phone.

The suspects were taken into custody and detained for motor
vehicle theft. The two suspects were identified as Brian Lee, 25, and
Jeffrey Scaggs, 28, both of Albuquerque, N.M. The police discovered
Lee had a felony warrant for "drugs and destruction of evidence" in
New Mexico, and he was arrested.

The female suspect was located in a nearby shop and detained. She
initially gave a false name and was found to have the key to the
stolen vehicle in her possession, said Maxwell. Following an
interview with the female suspect, it was discovered she was Stayce
McCafferty, 29, also of Albuquerque, N.M., and she admitted to
travelling in the vehicle with the two male suspects.

The three suspects were charged with aggravated motor vehicle
theft, a class 3 felony. The "aggravated" charge refers to the taking
of a stolen vehicle across state lines and being in possession of the
vehicle for more than 24 hours.

Upon inspection of the vehicle, the police found a "large amount
of mail from the Albuquerque area" not addressed to the suspects,
including bank statements, ID cards, credit cards and social security
information. A large number of checks from numerous accounts in New
Mexico, equipment for making forged documents and drug paraphernalia
were also found in the vehicle, said Maxwell.

The three suspects were then additionally charged with unlawful
possession of identifying information, conspiracy and forgery.
McCafferty was charged with criminal impersonation and the unlawful
possession of a financial transaction device. She was found to have a
warrant from Durango for motor vehicle theft, and a warrant from
Bernalillo County, N.M. for concealing identity, false evidence of
title or registration, and failure to appear for receiving or
transferring stolen property.

Additionally, inside the vehicle the police found the
registration, insurance documents, and a large amount of mail and
personal property removed from a Jeep Cherokee that had been reported
stolen earlier that morning in Durango. The Jeep Cherokee was
subsequently located by La Plata County Deputies abandoned in the
Durango area, and the Pagosa Springs Police Department is working
with the Durango Police Department on the case.

Maxwell said it "appears to be a classic case of identity theft
where innocent parties are taken advantage of." Maxwell said the
suspects are in the Archuleta County Jail, that an investigation is
continuing, and that there will be follow-up with numerous law
enforcement agencies. Maxwell said he was told the suspects "were
planning to make their home in Pagosa."

Snowmobile use limited on north
side of Wolf Creek Pass

The Divide Ranger District is seeking comments for the analysis
and decision concerning use of "over-snow vehicles" (e.g.,
snowmobiles, Snow Cats, etc.) in the Lobo Overlook area.

The Lobo Overlook area is located north of U.S. 160 on Wolf Creek
Pass. Pending the decision, the Rio Grande National Forest has put in
place a temporary closure order that limits over-snow vehicle use to
the Lobo Overlook Road (Forest Road 402).

"There have been a lot of safety issues in the Lobo Overlook
area," said Divide District Ranger Tom Malecek. "This area receives a
lot of winter use by motorized and non-motorized winter recreation
enthusiasts. We thought it was prudent to put a temporary closure
order in place until the analysis is completed."

The south side of U.S. 160 on Wolf Creek Pass is still open for
over-snow vehicle use except within the boundaries of Wolf Creek Ski
Area.

The final decision concerning over-snow vehicle use in the Lobo
Overlook area should come out in January 2006.

For more information, contact Steve Brigham on the Divide Ranger
District at (719) 657-3321.

Final push to aid Mississippi
town

By James Robinson

Staff Writer

After nearly a month in the planning, the Town of Pagosa Springs,
the Pagosa Springs Area Chamber of Commerce, the Pagosa Springs
Builders Association, local civic organizations and individuals are
making their final push to provide aid to hurricane-battered
D'Iberville, Miss.

Mary Jo Coulehan of the Pagosa Springs Area Chamber of Commerce
said funds have been gathered and a donation station has been
established at Terry's Ace Hardware, west of town on Navajo Trails
Drive, next to U.S. 160.

Coulehan said the station will continue to receive donations until
4 p.m. Dec. 10 and Coulehan said donations can also be brought to the
chamber from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Coulehan said once collections are complete, Durango's RAC
Transport will haul the trailer to Denver where Yellow Freight will
carry the goods to Mississippi Dec. 12.

Both companies are providing their shipping services free of
charge.

Following Hurricane Katrina, D'Iberville, Miss., a small coastal
town just north of Biloxi, was left battered and reeling and in
desperate need of help.

Pagosa Springs Town Manager Mark Garcia said 18 D'Iberville town
council and town staff members lost their homes to the hurricane. In
addition, the entire public works facility was destroyed, as was the
police department offices, including numerous law enforcement
vehicles.

To make matters worse, Garcia said D'Iberville officials reported
the town had received little or no help from the American Red Cross
and was experiencing difficulty in dealing with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), particularly in regard to temporary
housing.

Coulehan, who is helping spearhead aid efforts on behalf of the
chamber, said recent conversations with D'Iberville officials
indicated the housing solution is far from being resolved.

She said D'Iberville residents have recently moved into "bare
bones" trailers from tent cities, but that rebuilding of homes cannot
begin until FEMA designates new flood plane zones. That work,
Coulehan said, was supposed to be completed Nov. 15.

In addition, she said FEMA is in the midst of a tedious
house-by-house assessment to ensure structures are fit for
rebuilding.

"They are going house by house to take moisture readings. If the
moisture readings are too high, they can't rebuild," said Coulehan.

Coulehan added that D'Iberville officials do not know when FEMA
will complete its assessment project.

In light of their situation, Coulehan said D'Iberville residents
are in great need of non-perishable items and the things necessary to
establish a kitchen in an unfurnished home. She said towels, bedding,
cleaning supplies and tools would also be of great use.

In addition to material goods, the Town of Pagosa Springs is
contributing $5,000 to the relief effort and town staff is foregoing
their annual catered Christmas party and will contribute funds
earmarked for the event to the D'Iberville cause.

Those wishing to make cash contributions can contact the Town of
Pagosa Springs at 264-4151.

General information on the effort can be found by contacting
either the town or the Chamber at 264-2360.

EMS holds Operation Christmas
Cheer this weekend

The Upper San Juan Health District Division of EMS and Operation
Helping Hand are sponsoring Operation Christmas Cheer - a toy and
food drive for the less fortunate citizens of Archuleta County.

Currently, there are over 100 families being helped by the
generous support of the residents of Pagosa Country.

Help the district and EMS help those in need have a special
heartfelt Christmas celebration. Collection will take place Dec.
10-11 in the ALCO parking lot.

Fill the ambulance with toys, clothes and nonperishable food
items. Items will be distributed by Operation Helping Hand.

Airport Commission holds
'civil,' productive meeting

By John Middendorf

Staff Writer

One hundred years ago the railroads were the vanguard of
population growth and commerce in American towns. Fifty years ago the
birth of a modern trans-America highway system drove future
development. Today, it is the airport that spurs growth and attracts
people and businesses to communities, towns and cities.

Although the effects of a recent upgrade of Stevens Field have not
yet begun to alter Pagosa's current character, airport commissioners
are certain that future economic benefits will be profound.
Currently, airport commissioners cite $23 million added annually to
the local economy from the airport's presence, with more expected in
the future.

And that is why, when questioned about the expected airport costs
to the county to the tune of $450,000 annually, several members of
the airport commission state a preference to "wait and see" how the
new airport will pay for itself. (Current airport revenue is less
than $150,000 per year, while $300,000 is budgeted for operating
expenses; in addition the county pays an annual $308,000 debt service
for a $2.5 million loan for the new FBO, hangars, and fueling station
that will continue until 2014.)

Bob Jasper, interim county administrator, has been a regular
attendee at airport commissioner's meetings, pleading, cajoling and
demanding that the Airport Advisory Commission come up with a plan to
increase fees so the airport can "at least capture ongoing operating
costs."

In response, at the AAC meeting Dec. 1, Bob Howard, former AAC
chairman, presented various scenarios for specific fee increases with
a series of spreadsheets projected on the wall of the packed meeting
room. Backed by fee survey data from 120 airports (out of the
estimated 5,200 airports in the U.S.), Howard plugged in various fees
for fuel surcharges, tie down and landing fees, and automobile
parking charges - the four common fees that airports charge their
customers.

With an emphasis of providing "good service, reasonable prices,
and reasonable policies" for airport users, Howard warned against
anti-competitive pricing structures, which could drive away the
"charter, corporate and private operators" who could be a boon to
both the airport and the community. In the end, Howard made five
recommendations the AAC approved to be brought to the Archuleta
County Board of County Commissioners for approval.

The recommendations from Howard (and subsequently approved by the
AAC board) for fee increases are as follows: an increase from 5 cents
to 7 cents per gallon county fuel surcharge; daily tie-down fees
(overnight airplane parking fees) of $5 for single piston planes, $7
for multipiston planes, $15 for turboprop planes, $25 for light jets
and $50 for medium jets; no landing fees (Howard stated that "very
few non-towered airports" charge landing fees), and a $1 per day
automobile parking fee (or $180 for an annual parking permit). In
all, the increased fee structure was expected to add roughly $40,000
to the existing revenues, bringing the total expected annual income
from the airport to an estimated $148,854 (which includes $45,000
hangar land lease and $10,000 FBO lease income).

Howard also made a fifth recommendation, which was to be
conservative with fee increases for 2006, "examine real statistics"
at the end of next year, and consider fee increases again in February
2007. He said it would be "premature and foolish" to overprice
Stevens Field "until we have established that we are worthy of the
traffic that we expect to come here."

Other proposals were considered but not approved. Marc Weiler,
airport commissioner, made a motion to present the county
commissioners with a substantially increased fee structure that would
pay all operating costs. The motion died for a lack of a second. A
discussion of "ramp fees," a general service charge for airplanes on
the airport (which could be waived if the planes were fueled), and a
rental car surcharge were both briefly discussed. Jasper,
consistently pressing for substantial net numbers, at one point
quipped, "I'm not wanting to tie you down because then I suppose
there would be a fee for that."

During the meeting, the AAC elected new officers. Elmer Schettler
was elected as chairperson, Tom Broadbent as vice-chairperson, and
Nancy Torrey as secretary.

On Tuesday, Schettler presented the AAC's recommendations to the
county commissioners. Commissioner Mamie Lynch stated that "January
is the time we establish fees for the county." The county board
decided to delay the establishment of a revised airport fee structure
until January.

Schettler also presented an AAC-approved request for cooperative
funds from the county for a planned fund-raiser for promotion of the
airport. The AAC events committee is planning to produce a four-color
brochure promoting Stevens Field that will be sent to a mailing list
of 1,400 businesses, FBOs, airport managers, pilots and interested
parties. An open house and "re-dedication" of the airport is planned
for June 28, 2006, concluding with a SunDowner hosted by the FBO.

The AAC requested matching funds from the county of the expected
$16,000 to $20,000 budget for the events committee's promotion of
Steven's Field, in effect requesting a maximum of $10,000 from the
county. Ronnie Zaday, county commissioner, asked, "What, $308,000 is
not enough?" presumably referring to the airport's debt service.
Commissioner Lynch explained to Schettler, "Yes, we want to support
the promotion of the airport, but we can't tell you today. It will
certainly be considered and we hope to be able to do something."
Jasper said the county should know by Dec. 13, when "all the
competing demands" on county funds has been determined more
definitively.

In other matters, airport management has conceded on a few issues
of concern to pilots. Rob Russ, airport manager, presented an update.
A connector road has been built between the Midfield Apron (site of
the FBO) and the North Ramp (where 23 tie-down anchors are provided
for the smaller planes). Although the connector road is not certified
for airplane use, fuel trucks will be able to transport fuel to the
North Ramp, and pilots will be able to drive their cars from the FBO
to the North Ramp to load and unload airplanes. In addition, the plan
for the security system has been revised to allow hangar owners on
Taxiway Bravo to have access to the FBO through the north gate.
Jasper said he met with Howard for an hour and a half prior to the
meeting, and said he believes the recent management decisions
represent "individuals' needs balanced in today's world and FAA
requirements to keep the airport secure." At the end of the meeting,
Weiler summed it up and said "it has been a wonderful meeting, I
appreciate the civility," and thanked all who were present.

Pagosan dies in Dec. 2 highway
crash

By John Middendorf

Staff Writer

A Pagosa Springs resident, Chris Young, 22, was killed Friday,
Dec. 2, in a head-on car crash on U.S. 160 near milepost 104.

According to a Colorado State Patrol accident report, Young was
driving westbound in a 2006 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and began to
pass a vehicle. Young's truck entered the eastbound lane into the
path of a 1966 Ford F250 pickup truck. Johnny Powers, 52, and Chris
Harrell, 19, both of Bayfield, were in the Ford F250.

The driver of the Ford F250 skidded and swerved to avoid impact,
but Young's vehicle impacted the Ford head-on with a slight offset to
the right for both vehicles. After impact, both vehicles spun a
quarter turn counter clockwise, remaining connected, and came to a
rest blocking the eastbound lanes. Both lanes of U.S. 160 were closed
for 30 minutes for vehicle tow recovery, and one lane was closed for
three hours following the crash.

Airbags deployed in the Tacoma driven by Young. The Ford F250 was
not equipped with seatbelts or airbags. Powers received fractures and
internal injuries while Harrell received leg injuries. Both were
taken to Mercy Medical Center, according to the report. Young was
pronounced dead at the scene at 9:50 a.m. by La Plata County Coroner
Carol Huser.

Outdoors

Bear cubs released back into
the wild

By Joe Lewandowski

Special to The SUN

Two bear cubs, captured last summer after their mother was killed,
were released back into the wild north of Pagosa Springs Nov. 30 by
the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW).

On the bright, cold afternoon, the bears bounded quickly out of a
holding container and into the woods. In a natural response, both
cubs climbed a few feet up trees, then wandered off to explore their
new environment.

Based on tracking of other bears released in the past, the cubs
have a good chance of surviving for several years, said Mike Reid,
district wildlife manager for the DOW in the Pagosa Springs area.

"The biggest thing is to get them nice and fat before releasing,"
Reid said. "We've done that and they look to be in good shape."

The cubs - a male and a female - weighed only about 10 pounds when
they were captured. Just before the release they each weighed more
than 100 pounds.

The bears' trip back into the wild started when they were born
last spring. Their mother had wandered into Colorado from New Mexico
sometime last year. Her ear tags indicated she had been trapped in
New Mexico, probably after she rummaged in human garbage and became a
nuisance.

Last summer at a campground north of Pagosa Springs, with her new
cubs in tow, she continued foraging in Dumpsters and at campsites.
She was shot and killed in July by an owner of one of the
campgrounds. The owner was not cited for any wildlife violations,
Reid said.

"They took care of their garbage in the right way. But the bear
had become too accustomed to human food," Reid explained.

The cubs were captured two days later and transported to the DOW's
Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in the San Luis Valley.
There, the bears were kept in a special holding pen away from people
and fed a mix of typical forage food found in the wild and a ration
of prepared feed.

Bears need to develop large fat stores to get them through six
months of hibernation, said Kate Larsen, manager of the wildlife
center. Because the bears put on weight quickly she and Reid are
confident the cubs were ready to be released to hibernate in the
wild.

Because the mother indirectly taught the cubs to forage for human
food, Reid and Larsen are concerned that the cubs could find their
way back to another campground.

"By going into hibernation in a remote area, there is a good
chance that they'll forget about people and learn quickly how to live
in the woods," Reid said. "The more distance we can put between bears
and humans - in both distance and time - the better."

The bears were released about 40 miles north of Pagosa Springs
near a wilderness area. Reid said that they will quickly find a place
to hide and hibernate for the winter.

Two more cubs, captured in Lake City in late September after their
mother met a similar fate as the New Mexico sow, are also being held
at Frisco Creek. DOW wildlife managers decided that the bears will
stand a better chance of survival if they are held throughout the
winter and released next spring. Those cubs have gone into
hibernation.

Most bears throughout Colorado are in hibernation for the winter.
But the DOW reminds residents to stay in the habit of taking care of
garbage properly by storing it in secure containers. Bears are
attracted to human food and if they cause problems in residential
areas might be euthanized.

"Stash your trash. A fed bear is a dead bear," Reid said.

Forest Service to close roads
for winter, new rules in effect

By John Middendorf

Staff Writer

Every year the San Juan Forest Service officially closes its roads
for the winter, yet for years the county has snowplowed miles of
Forest Service roads for residents living in areas isolated from
county roads, including access routes to official county
subdivisions.

Not so this year - in October Archuleta County announced it will
stop maintaining private roads and many Forest Service roads.

In response, the Forest Service will require residents living in
areas accessible only by Forest Service roads to obtain special use
permits to plow snow, and a travel authorization permit (which may or
may not be combined with the special use permit).

Major Forest Service roads that will be officially closed to the
public this winter will be Mill Creek, Burns Canyon and Fawn Gulch,
each of which will have a new gate installed. Closures of Turkey
Springs and Fosset Gulch roads (west of town, accessing Ute lands),
and additional spur roads such as Nipple Mountain and Echo Canyon,
will also affect residents requiring forest service road access.

"We'll try to keep the roads open through Christmas so that people
can still get (Christmas) trees," said Jo Bridges Friday, on her last
day as the Pagosa District Ranger for the San Juan National Forest.
Then, depending on the snow, the Forest Service will selectively
close roads through January, and reopen them in the spring after they
dry out, which could be as long as late May, according to Bridges.

Piedra and McManus roads will continue to be snowplowed by the
county to the Hinsdale County line, said Sheila Berger, asset
technician for the Archuleta Road and Bridge Department. Several
short (0.3 to 0.8 miles) initial sections of Forest Service roads to
parking areas will also be snowplowed by the county for public
recreational winter access, including Mill Creek (0.3 miles to a new
parking lot and gate), First Fork (FS 622), and the East Fork (FS
667) roads.

The rationale for the closures and the new gates is to protect the
roads. "Our roads were never built for winter use," said Ron Decker,
recreational staff member of the Pagosa Ranger District. Damage from
deep ruts caused by cars driving on saturated roads can render a road
unusable, and many roads would need improvements such as gravel to be
suitable for year-round use.

"If we don't pull the gate shut, there will still be some people
who try to go through. Then you end up with a wrecker," said Bridges.
And since the residents who are acquiring the special use snowplowing
permits are assuming responsibility for the condition of the
unimproved road, "it's not fair to have it available to everyone,"
said Bridges.

Bridges said that the Forest Service has a very good partnership
with Archuleta County and "we do all we can to maintain roads and
provide public access." Bob Jasper, interim county administrator,
said the county is open to maintaining Forest Service roads again in
the future, but emphasizes "It's their road; tell us (the county)
what you want to do." When asked if the Forest Service would ever
give up popular Forest Service roads to the county, Bridges answered
"Happily."

Letters

Proper protocol?

Dear Editor:

I am the mother of the child who was stabbed at the junior high
school. My family has only been in this community since the start of
the school year. Before that my son was in the Bayfield schools. We
love this area and my children have some of the best teachers we have
ever had the pleasure to come in contact with.

Every time my children enroll in a school we have to fill out
Emergency Contact Information sheets, giving out private, personal
information. That, I assumed, was so the school could contact us in
case of an emergency, or a child behavioral issue, etc. I received
one call from the principal this year in reference to my son not
paying enough attention in one of his classes. I supported the school
fully.

On Nov. 17 my son was running while playing dodge ball at school,
turned and slammed into a brick wall, knocking himself out for a
short time and giving him double vision and a bruised/swollen knee
cap. I was called. By the time I got to the school it was a half hour
later. The nurse advised he knew who he was, and was doing better,
but may have a mild concussion (a head injury like this could have
been a serious bodily injury, which could have resulted in a brain
injury or a broken neck). I had her call ahead to the clinic for an
emergency evaluation, since EMS was not contacted to evaluate him
prior to my arrival.

I did not pursue this any further since my son was going to be
fine.

However, in the incident Nov. 28, at 3:10 in the afternoon, police
were not called, EMS was not called and, more importantly, we the
parents were not called. I was very upset when my son came off the
school bus and advised us he was stabbed at school. He had
immediately reported this to the teacher who put a Band-Aid on him
and sent him to the principal's and nurse's office, along with a
witness. The nurse was not there and so the principal spoke with
them. He began questioning them about the incident to find out why
and how it happened. Many of the students in the art class witnessed
the incident.

While I understand the school's work to this point, I do not
understand why the parents, police and EMS were not notified
immediately. When our son advised us of what had happened, we called
the police while the wound was treated.

The police officer advised the principal he needed to contact us
because we were very upset. The principal called us between 5:30 and
6 that evening and spoke with my husband briefly on what he knew to
that point. The next day we found out the rest of the story. (Suspect
threw a pen/pencil at my son and hit him on the nose, drawing blood.
My son threw it back at him and went back to his work. The other kid
grabbed the exacto knife issued to him by the teacher, walked over
and stabbed my son in the triceps, dropped the knife and ran.) This
act is disturbing in itself. But, while the kid was picked up and
charged by the police who are keeping us up on the progress of the
case, the district superintendent is telling the paper and public the
school "followed appropriate protocol."

My question is this: If this student, instead of stabbing my son,
had slit his throat, had a gun at school, was in possession of
drugs/alcohol, or was being a bully - what is the protocol? Doesn't
the school have a duty to report crimes to authorities? Isn't a
school obligated to notify parents if their children are injured in
any way? I find it odd I was advised of my son's behavior in a class
and of a self-inflicted injury, but when a crime was committed
against him in the classroom, resulting in injury, neither parents,
police or Emergency Medical Services are advised.

I firmly believe we, as parents, have the right to know if our
child is injured, the victim of a crime, and that our children have a
right to proper medical attention in the case of an injury. After
Columbine we all became nervous about our children in public schools,
and have a misguided faith in the smaller schools, believing this
won't happen in my school. Well now I ask, what if it does? When does
the superintendent think they should notify police, parents and EMS?

Lynnette Ervin

Editor's note: Asked to supply The SUN with the written policy
that defines the school district protocol, Superintendent Noggle sent
the following.

"Policy JKD-JKE states: The Board of Education shall provide due
process of law to students, parents/ guardians and school personnel
through written procedures consistent with law for the suspension or
expulsion of students and the denial of admission."

The district board of education meets Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. in the
junior high school library.

Get the facts

Dear Editor:

Although she certainly is entitled to her opinion, Pat Skroch
should have gotten a few facts before writing her letter to the
editor regarding the proposed development at the top of Wolf Creek
Pass.

If she had, she would have known that there are many problems with
it, none of which pertain to a "stand against property rights" by a
"vocal few." She would have known that the original plan has been
ramped up from 200 condos to over 2,000. She would have known that
the original land swap for public national forest land was rejected
by local forest service people and later approved mysteriously in
Washington, D.C. She would have known that the approval of the
project by Mineral County commissioners on the advice of their
attorney, John Wilder, was recently revoked by Judge John Kuenhold
because it was, in his words, "arbitrary and capricious and
misconstrued the state statutes and the Mineral County subdivision
regulations." She would have known that there basically is no access,
no water, no power, no sewer, and no services to take care of 10,000
people trying to survive at 10,000 feet in thin air covered by 400
inches of snow. Most of these needs and their negative impacts will
have to be met by local downstream taxpayers in the form of increased
costs and subsidies, while the property tax revenues are sent to
remotely located Creede.

Had she looked into the facts, Ms. Skroch would have known that
Rep. John Salazar was extremely diligent in gathering facts before
deciding to oppose the development. He has had meetings with
interested parties for months, including the forest service and the
developers themselves.

Personally, I would like to thank him and Judge Kuenhold for doing
a great job of trying to protect our laws and irreplaceable public
assets such as Wolf Creek Pass and the Rio Grande watershed. It is
obvious to most folks that we can't leave this task to developers.

Greg Gosar

Monte Vista

Get real

Dear Editor:

The Dec. 1, 2005 issue of The Pagosa Springs SUN included a letter
from Cary Ellis, who "had the privilege Š of watching a documentary
film Š on the ethics and business tactics of Wal-Mart."

How nice. I'll bet this "documentary" film was totally objective
and unbiased in its presentation, right? Just a carefully-crafted,
educational piece intended to enlighten us, and inform us of the
evils of the corporate monster that intends to take over the world,
enslave the poor, and grind the noble members of organized labor into
the earth under its ugly boot.

What a piece of total garbage! With absolutely no basis in fact or
reality, this writer presents unjustifiable conjecture as the way the
world will turn if a Wal-Mart comes to Pagosa Springs. Cary Ellis may
not realize it, but fabrication presented as truth is called "lying,"
and however it might be sugarcoated with solicitous regard for our
teens, ethnic groups and women, it's still lying.

I have no special place in my heart for Wal-Mart, but any entity,
personal or corporate, whether in the private sector or in
government, has the American right to be truthfully portrayed. The
letter attacking Wal-Mart bears no resemblance to the truth, and I
suspect that Cary Ellis is well aware of that, but is happily willing
to sacrifice the truth for the sake of promoting an agenda.

The stated conjecture that "the county will have higher costs for
social services, health care and welfare" because of the presence of
a Wal-Mart is beyond ridiculous. There is a substantial population in
Archuleta County who struggles every day to find meaningful work, and
a large number of these already depend on the county for many of
their basic needs. Employment opportunities offered by a major
employer such as Wal-Mart would improve the daily life for many of
these persons immeasurably.

Apparently, though, no job at all for these residents is better
circumstances than a job that offers less than what Cary Ellis
considers appropriate.

Further, the bizarre suggestion that a Wal-Mart parking lot would
somehow attract "predators" that are, apparently, not a problem for
City Market and Alco, is so absurd as to bring into question the
basic intelligence of someone who would offer it as a realistic
prospect. Get real, please. Businesses don't import a criminal
element to populate their parking lots, and Wal-Mart is no exception.

Finally, the assertion of "Šinvestigations pending on chronic
discrimination by Wal-Mart against both ethnic groups and women..."
is an absolute, unmitigated lie. The same allegations have been made
against Home Depot and Sears, among others, and are equally false.
Those presenting these fabrications as fact are aware that, by their
nature, the lie is plausible to the casual reader, and is difficult
to disprove. This doesn't change the fact that the lie is still that:
a lie.

Anthony M. Kelley

Thanks Pat, John

Dear Editor:

May my wife and I take this opportunity to thank two people who
were in last week's Pagosa SUN.

The first is Patricia Skroch, of South Fork. Patricia stated, "The
opponents of the Village are a vocal few, the majority of whom do not
live in Mineral or Rio Grande counties. The Village offers real
economic development to Mineral, Rio Grande and Archuleta counties."

We appreciated Patricia's letter because now my wife and I know of
at least one person by name who supports this project. Every single
friend that we know in Pagosa, and we have been here fourteen years,
is opposed to this project.

That brings me to the second person who was on the front page of
last week's Pagosa SUN. And this is Rep. John Salazar. I do not know
John Salazar nor did I vote for him in the last election. Maybe I
should have because of his clear-sighted opposition to the Village.
In your newspaper, Rep. Salazar very clearly stated why he opposes
this project.

By now, Patricia will have had an opportunity to read in The SUN
the many and various reasons John Salazar opposes this project.
Salazar's key paragraph is where he stated, "He supports economic
development but not at the expense of the Coloradans he is charged to
represent."

Paul Lerno

Peace be with you

Dear Editor:

Pagosa Country is a very special place and we, for a time, were
privileged to have a reporter in our community who wove the fabric of
our lives with his words in stories he told in the SUN.

I heard of the passing of Richard Walter at our monthly Pagosa
fire training meeting last Saturday; announced by a somber Chief
Warren Grams. A moment of silence was observed in respect. Richard
was an avid supporter of our fire department and encouraged us with
all our activities, much like he did with our school teams, driving
to far corners of the state to report and support the Pagosa teams.
He wove his tale about the triumphant victory and the heartbreak
defeat with detailed descriptions of the action that took place.

I especially enjoyed running into Richard on his walks around
Pagosa, packing his camera and recalling some of his childhood
memories about the way life was back then. We shared a common thread
sitting by the river enjoying the peace, serenity and beauty only
this country can give you. Richard was, in my opinion, a working
man's man. He would tell stories about marbles and kids' games,
educate you about ghosts and goblins, or why the human spirit is
drawn to church on Christmas and Easter.

Richard had a great respect for the people who served this country
in military service. He knew that if you gave respect to others you
would get it in return, or at least hope you would. There were times
we would meet on the street in passing and during our chat the noise
from a loud truck with barking dogs or loud music would take away
that moment of peace and friendship. We would look at each other,
shake our heads, and try to understand why people move here if they
don't understand what the thread that binds us together as a
community is really all about.

Richard, I thank you for all your stories. Peace be with you
always.

Guiseppe Margiotta

Hometown talents

Dear Editor:

My wife and I moved to Pagosa about one year ago. In the last
year, we have attended several performances at the high school. I
can't believe the quality of the shows. I am impressed by the young
men and women and the quality of their talents. Not only is the
acting good, but so is the choir and music the orchestra provides. It
is wonderful to see so many students participate in the arts, both on
center stage and behind the scenes. It takes so many, many of whom no
one knows about, to put on these kinds of shows. It takes long hours
and dedication.

We have also seen several performances by the Music Boosters.
Attend one show and you will witness the wide range of talent of
those living here in Pagosa. What really impresses me is all who
participate are volunteers, and they give of their time and talents
freely. I'm talking about the whole realm, from set design, costumes,
sound, lights, to opening curtain. Everyone involved is a volunteer;
no one gets a penny for their time and efforts. The Music Boosters
earn money by putting on these shows and donate the money to promote
the performing arts and award scholarships annually. Hometown people
helping hometown students. When you attend any of their shows, you
will see and hear hometown people, both young and old, continuing to
enjoy their talents and sharing them with others, both on stage and
in the orchestra pit. After you attend several of the local shows,
you will begin to see a lot of the same people coming back time and
time again to support the arts. If you have never been to see one of
the shows, you really should; you don't know what you are missing. I
believe that if you come to one of these shows, you will become a
loyal supporter of the high school and Music Boosters.

If you have a desire to volunteer, or are blessed with talent and
you are willing to share your talents with others, ask around, I'm
sure someone will point you in the right direction to get involved.

If you have participated in one of the local shows in the past
year, whether it was a high school performance or one that the Music
Boosters put on, we would like to say thank you for your time and
talent. We look forward to future performances.

Kenneth and Michelle Smith

Kate's
Calendar

Kate's Calendar

By Kate Terry

PREVIEW Columnist

Today

The Mountain View Homemakers will meet with Margaret Rouke who
lives at 206 Pine Club Place. The program is the annual Christmas
party and gift exchange, and collection of gifts for the Four Corners
Safe Home in Durango. Call 731-4858 for more information.

Today

Tickets are on sale at Sisson Library for a beautiful quilt made
by the Pagosa Piecemakers to benefit the library. Tickets are $5
each. The raffle will be Dec. 15. The quilt is on display at the
library.

Dec. 9-10

Kiwanis Club Chili Supper, 4:30-7 p.m. at the community center.
This is a fund-raising event for the club and money raised will go
towards scholarships. Come enjoy dinner, then go straight to the
Christmas concert.

Community Choir Christmas Concert starts at 7 p.m. Friday and
Saturday, and at 4 p.m. Sunday. It's free, though donations will be
greatly appreciated.

The concert will be at the community center, 451 Hot Springs Blvd.
Seating is limited, so arrive early in order to get a seat. Concerts
are a gift to the community.

Dec. 10 and 12

The Children's Chorale will present a concert at 3 p.m. at St.
Patrick's Episcopal Church. They will present the same concert Dec.
12 at Restoration Fellowship Church at 6 p.m.

Dec. 13

The December meeting of the Archuleta County Republican Women will
be a Christmas Coffee at the home of Carol Fisher. It will be held at
11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13. Republican women interested in issues
challenging our local, state and federal governments are invited to
attend. Please come and get acquainted. They welcome new members but
there is not an obligation to join. Call Barbara at 731-9916 for
directions to Carol's home.

Dec. 14

The Pagosa Women's Club will hold its annual silent auction and
holiday luncheon at JJ's Upstream Restaurant at 11:15 a.m. Musical
entertainment will be provided by John Graves during the traditional
holiday luncheon. Proceeds from the auction go to various community
projects that need funding and support. Members, nonmembers, and
guests are encouraged to attend this fun and worthwhile event. For
more information, call Mary Webb at 731-1288. Reservations must be
made prior to Dec. 12, at noon. Please do not call JJ's for
reservations for this event.

Dec. 15

The Woman's Civic Club of Pagosa Springs Christmas party will be
held at Betsy Gill's house. She lives at 999 Stevens Lake Road (this
is a place change.) Call 731-4725 or 731-9979 for directions. The
time is 7 p.m.

Dec. 17

The Sarah Platt Decker Daughters of the American Revolution meets
at the Durango/La Plata Senior Center at 10 a.m. Call 247-1965 for
more information.

"Old Fashioned Christmas," 6-8 p.m., at the Power House Gym,
located behind the Humane Society Thrift Store, by the Town Park ball
field. Spend the evening making old-fashioned Christmas decorations,
decorate and eat Christmas cookies, sing along with your favorite
Christmas carols, listen to Christmas stories and spend time with
your family. Cocoa and goodies will be sold at the snack bar. For
more information, call Kay Dean, 731-5767.

Dec. 31

Community New Year's Eve Dance, 9:05 p.m.-12:30 a.m. at the
community center. John Graves, Larry Elginer, Susanna Ninichuck and
John's son will provide the music. Watch for more details.

Jan. 12

The Newcomer Club will meet at JJ's Upstream Restaurant at 6 p.m.
No reservations necessary. Price is $8 per person. The club is
sponsored by the Pagosa Springs Welcoming Service. For more
information, call Lyn DeLange at 731-2398. There will be no December
club meeting.

Community
News

Harpist Natalie Tyson at A
Classic Christmas

By Paul Roberts

Special to the PREVIEW

Prospecting for music in southwest Colorado can be an exhilarating
experience, especially when one discovers a wonderful resource like
harpist Natalie Tyson.

Tyson will perform solo harp music, plus direct the Mountain
Harmony Ladies' Barbershop Chorus, at the upcoming concert, A Classic
Christmas, to be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 17, at the Pagosa Lakes
Clubhouse.

Featuring a mixture of classical instrumental music and
traditional Christmas carols, "A Classic Christmas" promises to be
fine showcase of local talent. The concert also features John Graves,
Bob Nordmann, Melinda Baum, Larry Elginer, June Marquez, Jessica
Espinosa, Jeannie Dold, Carla and Paul Roberts.

A Classic Christmas is a rare chance to hear Natalie Tyson perform
solo harp. She will play "A Minuet from Sixth French Suite," by Bach;
"My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice," by Saint Saëns; and a 15th
century pavane.

Tyson loves to quote an old aphorism: "Life is like a musical
instrument; what you get out of it depends on how you play it."

"Music is my life," she said, "I don't know that I could get by
without it."

Growing up in northeastern Indiana, Tyson played clarinet in her
junior high and high school bands.

In college she was inspired to study the harp, attracted by the
instrument's varied and soothing palette of tone colors and its wide
range of expression. She has traveled to harp conventions all over
the world to study with some of the great masters of the instrument.
She has performed with community theater orchestras and with the
Oklahoma City Community Orchestra.

Tyson performs a fascinating program for church groups, in which
she presents a narrative about women in the Bible, and then plays
music that evokes the character of these women.

"The versatility of the harp is so wonderful," she says. It can be
very relaxing. It was great for my kids; it helped them go to sleep.
My husband enjoys going to sleep while I'm practicing. It's also a
kind of meditation time for me."

An ethereal effect is created on the harp by a technique known as
glissando. "Glissandos are created by running your fingers across all
the strings," Tyson explained.

The harp is a great instrument for angelic sounds, but it's hardly
limited to that. "It can also be quite exciting," she said. "There
are a lot of rumbas, tangos, and sambas that have been arranged for
the harp. There's also a lot of jazz that's fun to play.""

Describing some other harp techniques, she said, "You can use the
soundboard as a drum, tapping on it for an effect. You can play close
to soundboard for more of a twangy sound. You can press your hand
against a string and produce a harmonic that sounds an octave higher,
making a bell-like tone. The pedals make it possible to play
different chords. Composers went wild when pedals were invented for
the harp."

Playing any musical instrument has its challenges. The harp has
some big ones, like the 45 strings that need to be tuned and
occasionally replaced.

"It's like a Swiss watch," said Tyson. "It's such a precision
instrument. It has to be built just right and adjusted just right.
There are very few people in the U.S. who can do the repairs. It's an
expensive instrument to buy and it's expensive to maintain."

In 1995, she and her husband, Jarrell Tyson, (a Methodist
minister), began a seven-year ministry in Russia. When they returned
to the US, they traveled all over the country, speaking to church
groups about their experiences in Russia. The Tysons moved to Pagosa
in 2001.

Tyson has taken an active role in the local music scene as
director of the Mountain Harmony Ladies' Barbershop Chorus.

A Classic Christmas is produced by Elation Center for the Arts, a
local nonprofit. The concert - which includes a dessert social -
follows the organization's recent Pagosa Song Fest, last summer's
American Roots Music Festival, and the Ancient Cultures
arts-in-education program at Pagosa Springs Intermediate School.
Proceeds from the concert will help support Elation Center's efforts
in bringing quality community concerts, classes and other cultural
enrichment programs to Pagosa Springs.

Tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $8 for adults,
$7 for seniors and $5 for children under 18.

Bring a dessert to share, if you wish. Also, volunteers are needed
to help with holiday decorations and refreshments. Call 731-3117 for
more information.

Medicare drug workshop at The
Silver Foxes Den

Confused about Medicare's new Part D drug
coverage for seniors?

If so, Sen. Jim Isgar and the Colorado
Gerontological Society want to help.

Isgar will host a series of four free public
workshops Dec. 15-16 to help southwest Colorado seniors understand
the new Medicare benefits. The workshops are presented by the
Colorado Gerontological Society.

A workshop will be offered in Pagosa
Springs.

"We want to make sure seniors in southwest
Colorado have access to helpful Medicare information. We encourage
people to come and speak with an expert and learn more about what
plan is best for them," said Isgar.

Seniors receiving Medicare benefits can
enroll in Medicare Part D, the new federal prescription drug discount
plan, through May 15. Coverage starts Jan. 1 for seniors who have
already registered.

According to Medicare's Web site
(www.medicare.gov) under Part D almost one in three people with
Medicare will qualify for extra help paying their prescription drug
costs.

To better determine which prescription drug
plans could best supplement current Medicare coverage, seniors are
asked to bring a list of the medications they are taking to the
workshops.

For further more information about Part D,
contact Medicare at (800) 633-4227 or go to www.medicare.gov or for
more information on the session or other questions, call the Colorado
Gerontological Society toll free at (866) 416-0659.

The Pagosa workshop, featuring speaker Don
Kreutzer, will take place 9-11 a.m. Dec. 15 at the Silver Foxes Den
Senior Center (264-2167, located in the community center at 451 Hot
Springs Blvd. Refreshments will be provided.

County Republican Women to hold
Christmas Coffee

By Barbara Rawlings

Special to the PREVIEW

The Archuleta County Republican Women will hold a Christmas Coffee
at the home of Carol Fisher 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13.

This is an opportunity to meet others in the community who have an
interest in the direction of our local, state and federal
governments. It is a way to become acquainted if you are new to the
community or just want to meet others with similar interests. Come
join us for a cup of coffee and goodies. Call Barbara at 731-9916 for
directions to Carol's home.

Our organization was established three years ago and is open to
all registered Republican women as members and registered Republican
men as associate members. Luncheon meetings are held the second
Tuesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Hog's Breath. We promote
Republican ideals and candidates, participate in community services
and provide educational programs for our members. We are always open
to new membership, but there is not an obligation to join.

Groundbreaking show is
inspirational

By Leanne Goebel

Special to The PREVIEW

In a nondescript warehouse on Bastille Street, in an industrial
area of Pagosa Lakes, is a hidden treasure: The Space@Shy Rabbit.

Nestled between a wholesale bread distributor and a drywall
company, in unit B-4 (the only white door with a black logo of a
bunny sitting atop the words Shy Rabbit) is a contemporary art
center. While the exterior is nothing fancy - a drab metal building,
oil stained asphalt, trucks everywhere - it's the interior that
matters. Inside, is a clean, well-lighted gallery space with
14-foot-high ceilings, concrete floors and light avocado green walls.

Currently on display is the Shy Rabbit Invitational and Juried Art
Show, a collection 48 works of art, featuring four invited artists
and 15 artists selected by a committee of jurors. Thirty-three of
those works of art fill The Space. Fifteen photographs by invited
artist Emilio Mercado are displayed in the much more intimate,
original Shy Rabbit showroom in unit B-1.

The Space is dominated by the presence of three warrior figures
created by Durango-based artist Marsan, also known as Susan Anderson.
These warrior figures are over 6-feet tall and stand almost
diagonally in the middle of The Space. Marsan calls them "Spiritual
Warriors" - "Harvest," "Awakening" and "Guardian." Each is crafted
from indigenous primitive materials from around the world. Old fabric
is wrapped and wound, but not cut. There are ancient tools,
implements, jewelry attached to the warrior. Many of the objects used
to create these warriors are more than 100 years old. A scroll
accompanies each warrior that speaks to its traits, materials and
purpose.

"My belief about art is that it either creates, or captures what
is past," Marsan said. She believes that the warriors are created for
the specific person who purchases them and those who derive insight
from observation. "You will be innately drawn to the spiritual
warrior most resembling the character trait you were endowed with to
serve God's purpose. Each artifact has meaning and relational
qualities to the overall piece as well as to the character of the
person relating."

Marsan's warriors are impressive, but the smaller, organic
sculpture, "Unity of . . . ology," an actual tortoise shell, feathers
and wire frame is most striking for its simplicity. Marsan has five
works in the current show, more than any other artist.

Marsan's warriors balance the three giant canvases by another
Durango-based artist, Sarah Comerford. Comerford has a BFA in
painting from Montclair State University in New Jersey. Comerford was
in New Jersey Sept. 11, 2001, and her two paintings, "The Twins,"
represent her experience that day. The two canvases, hang nearly
touching, each feature a blonde twin wearing a crystal chandelier.
The chandeliers represent capitalism and its wealth and bought
beauty, but rather than being purely esthetic, the chandeliers are
worn by the human figures in a burdensome manner, one even tied
around the neck like an albatross. Floating on the gold leaf-covered
canvas are dozens of Frida Kahlo-esque hearts which represent not
only death, but also the anticipated suffering still to come.

Comerford's canvases are impressive in their size, 3-feet wide by
5-feet tall. Her "Self Portrait" directly across the room from "The
Twins" is the more intriguing painting. The artist stands nude
between heavy red velvet drapes, strategically holding a bunch of
grapes while sneering, grinning skulls float around her on the
canvas.

In her artist's statement, Comerford writes: "I attempt to evoke
otherworldliness or 'the other' that is beyond literal explanations.
By 'the other' I refer to loss, pain, love and longing while
understanding and appreciating beauty in the face of disintegration,
fleeting life and degeneration of the body and mind." Comerford's
work seems to focus on the mortal limitations of embodiment. And,
like Frida Kahlo, Comerford paints her own reality, not some
surrealistic dreams.

The third invited artist also deals in reality: The reality of
nature. "I strive for the child's perception in which all things
become both referential and reverential," Shan Wells said. "I try to
strip away the everyday contexts - the cliché's of 'beautiful
nature,' and reveal components that are overlooked&emdash;the visual
mechanisms of creation." Wells, another Durango-based artist,
received his MFA from the University of Canterbury, in New Zealand.
Wells, whose body of work encompasses drawing, painting, sculpting
and public art projects, is best known as the cartoon artist for The
Durango Telegraph and his most recent "Moments" project, a conceptual
work that utilizes historic photographs mounted on steel stanchions
in the approximate location the original photograph was created. The
purpose of the project is to make Durango residents more aware of
their history and their connection to the land.

Wells' creative approach is similar to Marsan's. "I believe there
is a creative force that runs through human culture, thought and
expression," he says. "The expression of this force is not limited
solely to our species. Elephants draw it, orca sing it and bower
birds sculpt it."

His most prominent work at the Invitational and Juried Arts Show
is "Leaf Press" a wooden vise compressing oak leaves. Made from
recycled pine, maple, oak leaves, found steel and wood, the work
implies both the structure of nature and the structure of human
invention. Representing the gradual transition of loam into soil, it
also represents the gradual destruction of nature by our human
disconnect from the natural world. His other works, "Swabs," are made
from burn mud slurry from the Missionary Ridge Fire, steel, cotton,
paper and hemp and hang on the wall like giant Q-tips dripping with
the blood of the earth.

"Often, I wind up touching my ancient heritage as a human animal,"
Wells says in his artist statement. "Foraging for color, collecting
emotion." With "Swabs" he seems to have collected the emotion of not
only humans affected by the fires of 2002, but of the earth itself.

The fourth invited artist, Emilio Mercado does not forage for
color.

"They say the world is full of color," Mercado says. "But I'd
rather do black and white. It's more interesting."

Fifteen of Mercado's black and white photographs hang in the front
space at Shy Rabbit. It's the perfect, small space for the purity of
Mercado's light-painted photographs. Inspired by 17th Century master
still-life painter Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin, Mercado uses only
natural light for all of his compositions. Like Chardin, Mercado is a
purist, insisting on precision and perfection at the shot and in the
darkroom. Many of his original photographs took years to be developed
and printed in the fashion that he originally envisioned, due to the
advancement of film processing. An example of this is the still life,
"Butterfly, Coffee Pot and Three Eggs," which was taken in 1965, but
not actually printed until 1985. The photo was shot using a common
window screen to create the grainy appearance.

Mercado's photographs are masterful. The composition of Mercado's
work is precise, like in "Small Oiler and Leaf" (1995) where the tip
of the leaf aligns perfectly and almost touches the slender spout of
the oilcan. There is purity in Mercado's work and this purity is
reflected in the choice by Shy Rabbit to exhibit his photography
without the adulteration of other art.

Juried and multiple artist shows are often difficult, jumbled and
crammed together. At Shy Rabbit, this is not the case. The work seems
to flow from one piece to the next. Each work of art pops on the soft
green walls. There is an abundance of earth tones, gold foil, bronze
and where there is brilliant color, in Ted Fish's "Remember XT,"
Kathleen Steventon's "Quintessential," and Mikki Harder's "Away," it
is kept together and draws the eye into the far right hand corner of
The Space. Work is hung horizontally and vertically, utilizing the
height of the walls and ceiling. Tirzah Camacho's "The Four
Misdirection's," is four Masonite panels that the artists originally
envisioned hung horizontally, but the work is impressive stacked one
atop the other in a tall totem.

By far, the most compelling work from the juried artists is that
of Pat Erickson from Pagosa Springs. Her long narrow canvas,
"Scripture Bound," of a male figure with his head bound in red cloth
and wrapped in thorns, angel wings outstretched is from a series of
work called "Mind Games." This ongoing project is currently comprised
of 10 images that represent the various states in one's own mind or
those states imposed on the individual from without. The wings in
"Scripture Bound" are actually vulture wings, the artist explained.

Erickson said that she rewards herself for creating her more
traditional wildlife images and prints, which pay the bills, by
taking time to create new work in this series. She has two new "Mind
Games" images planned. Erickson's "Mind Games" canvases are primarily
black and white with shots of color, like the red cloth covering the
eyes and the green vine wrapped around the head, holding the wings in
place. Erickson's work is brilliant. The technique is entirely
transparent watercolor painted on 8-ply cotton rag board. The artist
does not use pencil, watercolor pencil, gouache, pastel or any other
medium. Transparent watercolor pigments are very finely ground and
mixed in a binding medium composed of a solution of gum Arabic. Very
thin, transparent layers of pigment mingle with the white effect of
the paper. Using a dry brush technique, mastered by artist Andrew
Wyeth, Erickson, creates work of precise detail. The hundreds of
hours involved in creating each tiny stroke is mind blowing. For
Erickson, it's a Zen-like meditation. The artist's second work in the
show is "Inspiration" and shows the profile of a woman, arms
outstretched, back arched as if preparing for a back flip, a hawk is
poised to land on her bare chest, talons ready to grip. "Inspiration"
is the first positive state from the series, which includes title
like "Fear," "Right Brain Bondage," "Suppression" and "Introversion."

Erickson's "Inspiration" is the work that encompasses or could
represent the entire Invitational and Juried Art Show at The
Space@Shy Rabbit, which, after dozens of visits, is still stimulating
and innovative.

Other work of note includes the elegant lines in Chad Haspels
"Above Us All," a more contemporary sculpture than those in Town Park
or at Vallecito Reservoir. Don Long's political statement on the
destruction of our National Forest and his commentary against the
proposed Village at Wolf Creek, "Trapped," is an excellent use of
found objects to create a highly sophisticated work of art.

Painter Shaun Martin shows a series of three canvases from a
series called "She Comes Fortified" that express the idea of
discovery through the artistic process. The titles are intended as a
jumping-off point, not only for the artist, but for the viewer:
"Fault Finding," (the best of the series for its design elements and
structure) "Conception" and "Surplus." One other work,
"Groundbreaker," is an exploration of the concept of what it means to
break ground and to be groundbreaking. Martin acknowledges he is
still discovering the deeper layers of the original concepts as he
contemplates his own work.

Linda and Lal Echterhoff, husband and wife sculptors show three
interesting and unique bronze sculptures. The bound wood of Lal's
"Bird Form" is an organic shape that tempts the viewer to ponder its
meaning and Linda's "Eve" is a trio of forms representing Eve, Satan
and the Apple.

Shy Rabbit is propelling Pagosa's art scene into the 21st century.
The work compiled for the Invitational and Juried Art Show is worth
the trip down Bastille Drive. The work is provocative and the energy
of the Space is inspiring and cutting-edge. Weekend hours are the
ideal time to peruse and ponder and discuss art with one or two of
the artists whose work hangs on the walls, as it is the artists who
are helping to keep the gallery doors open for visitors.

Shy Rabbit is not as difficult to find as some think. Take North
Pagosa to Bastille Drive (the road just after the Buffalo Bar and
before UBC) and turn left. Follow Bastille just past Hopi. Look for
Pine Valley Rental on your right. Shy Rabbit is in the warehouses
next door, in the former location of Joy Automotive and across the
street from the UPS warehouse. Look for the sandwich board with the
bunny and the words Shy Rabbit. The gallery will be open Saturdays
and Sundays, 1-4 p.m. through Dec. 18.

Don't miss this show.

If you can't make it to Pagosa, but are interested in perusing
some of the art, log on to www.shyrabbit.blogspot.com for photos and
more information.

Early bird tickets available

for Indiefest and folk festival

By Crista Munro

Special to The PREVIEW

Tickets are now on sale for the inaugural
FolkWest Independent Music Festival - Indiefest.

The event will take place June 10-11 on
Reservoir Hill in Pagosa Springs.

The Confirmed Lineup for Indiefest includes
Ruthie Foster, Brave Combo, Terri Hendrix and Clumsy Lovers. Many
more will be announced.

To order tickets for either or both events,
call toll free, (877) 472-4672 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Order online or by mail order at
www.folkwest.com.

Additional information is available at the
same Web site.

Sisson Library to host open
house

The Ruby M. Sisson Library will host an open house 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Dec. 17 at the newly expanded library facility at U.S. 160 and 8th
Street.

The open house begins with an 11 a.m. program, a reading of "The
Polar Express," in the Children's Room.

The Pagosa Pretenders will present a dramatization at noon in the
Great Room. "Polar Express" will be featured again at 1 p.m. in the
Children's Room and refreshments will be served in the South Room
beginning at 1.

Lester and Frank Rivas will sing Spanish Christmas carols at 1:30
p.m. in the Great Room.

The day's events end with holiday songs from many faiths and
cultures performed by the Mountain Harmony Singers, 2 p.m. in the
Great Room.

Pagosa Pretenders receive El
Pomar award

By John Egan

Special to The PREVIEW

If the "world's a stage," as Shakespeare once said, the Pagosa
Pretenders Family Theater has found its way to the center of that
stage.

On Nov. 17, Susan Garman, president of the local theater group,
accepted an award as one of three finalists for the William Howbert
Award for Excellence in Arts and Humanities from the prestigious El
Pomar Foundation of Colorado Springs. The award was made in
recognition of the groups' strengthening "Šthe bond between family
and community utilizing the creative process of the performing arts,
from planning to performance."

The award further cited that, "Children of all ages perform
side-by-side with their parents and peers in creative, original plays
created through cast improvisation with an all-volunteer staff." A
handsome plaque presented to the Pagosa Pretenders Family Theater was
accompanied by a check in the amount of $7,500, the cash reward for
being a finalist.

The El Pomar (The Orchard) Foundation, established in 1937 by
Spencer and Julie Penrose, was originally dedicated "to enhance,
encourage and promote the current and future well being of the people
of Colorado through grantmaking and community stewardship." Penrose
is best known for building the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort. Based in
Colorado Springs. El Pomar Foundation is one of the largest and
oldest private foundations in the Rocky Mountain West, with assets
totaling $500 million. El Pomar contributes approximately $20 million
annually through grants and community steward programs to support
Colorado nonprofit organizations involved in health human services,
education, arts and humanities, and civic and community initiatives.
El Pomar has provided more than $300 million in capital program, and
general operating support through direct grantmaking. The Association
of Fundraising Professionals honored El Pomar by naming it Foundation
of the Year in 1998. Part of the nomination read, "Šwe know of no
foundation that has so enthusiastically embraced such a broad scope
of creative programming in the service nonprofit sector."

This year's Awards of Excellence included the areas of Human
Services, Sports and Recreation, Youth Development, Education,
Environmental Issues and Health care, among others. The Pagosa
Pretenders Family Theater was a finalist for the Arts and Humanities
Award of Excellence along with The Doctor Martin Luther King Museum
of Pueblo. Music in the Mountains of Durango took top honors in the
category.

Of the ceremony Garman said, "It was very humbling to be in the
World Arena with so many exceptional non-profit organizations. Being
a finalist is an honor to share with everyone who has ever
participated in a Pagosa Pretenders production. I thank and commend
all our volunteers. They make every production a reality. They are
The Pretenders."

The Pagosa Pretenders has a history of producing many fun
theatrical productions including last year's "An Evening with the
Stars" and memorable shows like "Lord of the Springs," "Sleeping
Beauty" and "2001; a Space Oddity."

The programs first entertained locals in the Multi-Purpose Room at
Pagosa Springs Elementary School and moved more recently to the
Pagosa Springs High School Auditorium. What make these productions
unique are their casts: everyone from kindergartners to senior
citizens find themselves "treading the boards" in these entertaining,
high energy and fast-paced shows, many of which include dancing and
singing.

Garman and the board of directors of Pagosa Pretenders have other
aspirations for the organization, which may include more productions
each year, a Summer Theater Camp, a Readers' Theater and scholarships
for students of theater. "Pagosa Pretenders has fulfilled its initial
mission of providing an opportunity for those interested in theater
to have an introduction to the stage," said Garman. "It's time we
redefine our goals so that we can expand our mission in the
community."

The board of directors has even discussed taking on more serious
theatrical endeavors. While no plans have been announced, it is clear
Pagosa Pretenders is moving in the direction of a wider variety of
stage presentations to round out its service to Pagosa Springs.

Some traditional, some contemporary, most of the items offered for
sale have been handmade by the students. Also included are items made
by parents and other donors.

Among the array of festive creations are bright-colored ornaments
made by the preschoolers, wrapping paper painted by first-graders,
cloth Indian angels crafted by third- and fourth-graders, and
decorative wall hangings made by the school's fifth- and
sixth-graders. Kindergartners are offering flower seed packets, and
paint cans which they have cleverly embellished with puzzle pieces
that can be used as waste paper cans, a recycling project.

Other fare for sale includes old-fashioned stringed light decors,
candy cane mobiles and felt tree skirts. An assortment of baked
goodies will also be available.

Proceeds from the bazaar will help fund the school's everyday
operations.

Women's Club to change meeting
site

By Marti Capling

Special to The PREVIEW

The Pagosa Women's Club announces a change in its meeting place.
JJ's Upstream Restaurant will host the luncheons, beginning with the
April 9 meeting. The time and price remain the same, with doors
opening at 11:45, lunch served at noon, followed by a short program.

The Pagosa Women's Club meets the second Wednesday of each month
for lunch and a program or speaker providing topics of interest to
the community. The club is open to all women of the Pagosa area on a
drop-in basis or by joining the group with a $12 membership fee.
Current members are called each month with information regarding the
menu and program. The same information is available in Kate's
Calendar, along with a phone number to call for reservations, which
are mandatory.

Monies raised by the club are distributed to various charitable
organizations within the community. In the past year, donations have
been made to Special Olympics, Wolfwood, the American Cancer Society
Relay for Life, and the Salvation Army, for whom the club also
provides bell ringers. In addition, the club has adopted a two-mile
section of Piedra Road for clean-up as a service project.

Joining the Pagosa Women's Club is an opportunity to meet new
people, enjoy a social occasion, learn new things and help the
community. The club invites new members and encourages the return of
past members.

Your input is valued in the selection of programs and
organizations or charities to receive donations. For further
information call Katherine Cruse, president, 731-2602, or Charlotte
Overley, treasurer, 731-4991.

Community choir Christmas
concerts this weekend

By Sue Diffee

Special to The PREVIEW

Pagosa Springs Community Choir directors Pam Spitler and Larry
Elginer have been rehearsing the choir since early September,
preparing a variety of music for the annual Christmas Concert.

The program this year will include sacred, secular, gospel and
jazz music. The concert will last approximately 90 minutes and will
be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10, with a 4
p.m. matinee Sunday, Dec. 11. The community center, 451 Hot Springs
Blvd., will be the site for this year's concert. Due to limited
seating it is suggested you arrive early.

Included in the program will be several new songs including "Bidi
Bom," "All on a Starry Night," "We are Lights," "A Carol For To
Sing!" and "Some Children See Him."

Other, more familiar songs on the program are "Sing Choirs of
Angels," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Winter Wonderland of
Snow."

"Winter Medley," with soloists Bill Norton and Janna Voorhis, and
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" with soloists Sheri Bahn
and Matthew Brunson will also be performed.

Shirley McGee is our accompanist and Alex Baum is the
percussionist on several selections. Elizabeth Jernigan will be
signing again this year.

All of our concerts are our gifts to the community. Tax free
donations are gratefully appreciated.

Kids' Holiday
Retreat

The holiday season is here and the hustle and bustle of shopping
has begun.

Do you need a safe place for your children to go while you shop?
The Archuleta County Education Center has the answer. In the spirit
of the holidays the center invites kids in first to sixth grades to
participate in a Kid's Holiday Retreat 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec.
10. The day will be filled with fun crafts and movies. Snacks will be
provided, however, students will need to bring a bag lunch. The cost
for the day is $15.

To register your children, or for more information, call the
Archuleta County Education Center at 264-2835.

Unitarians continue meditation
series

On Sunday, Dec. 11, the Pagosah Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
will continue its series of Mindfulness Meditation sessions, led by
April Merrilee. This heart-centered meditation, celebrating the
spirit of love, is quite appropriate for the holiday season.

Merrilee points out that "group meditation helps us experience a
stronger sense of connection, which is especially meaningful this
time of year." She invites anyone who is interested to come prepared
to share insights and/or questions about the practice of meditation.

The service begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Pagosah Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship Hall, Unit 15, Greenbriar Plaza. Turn east on
Greenbrier Drive off of North Pagosa by the fire station, then left
into the parking lot and look for the big sign. All are welcome.

Hospitality, customer service
program offered at ed center

By Livia Lynch

Special to The PREVIEW

Workers interested in the customer service/hospitality industry
but lacking the experience or skills now have access to a
skills-driven training program sanctioned by the American Hotel and
Lodging Educational Institute (AHLA).

Skills, Tasks and Results Training (START) was developed by AHLA
and is based on a 180-hour curriculum that provides students with the
real-world knowledge and skills needed to begin a hospitality career.
Graduates of the program will complete intensive classroom and
hands-on training to master the skills and competencies associated
with 12 line-level positions associated with the lodging industry,
with a focus on rooms division, food and beverage, safety and
security, professionalism and extraordinary guest service.

The START program is being offered throughout southwest Colorado.
In Pagosa Springs, the Archuleta County Education Center will
implement START, and the 180-hour program will be offered beginning
in January 2006 on a scheduled basis, as well as offered in shorter
skill-driven modules as needed throughout the spring.

START is designed to deliver integrated employment training
services to individuals who have been identified as low-wage,
low-skilled workers. These trainings will also be open to incumbent
workers, and current employees of the local hospitality industry.

Participants who complete the program will receive certification
that should increase their chances of getting a job and a higher
salary in a career track.

The portion of the economy in Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma,
Dolores and San Juan counties based on tourism averages 30 percent,
with a range of 16-47 percent. Approximately 30 percent of workers in
the region are in this field.

In some industries, "entry level" is shorthand for "no growth
potential." Not in hospitality. The lodging industry is booming and
opportunities abound for meaningful jobs with high-growth career
paths" (AHLA) Several regional hospitality partners will give hiring
preference to START program graduates, and hoteliers also stand to
reap some cost savings in training new or current employees who "show
promise." There are currently 52 AHLA workforce programs in 21
states, and research into their current programs shows that students
of the START program take from 30-50 percent less training time to
get up to productivity levels and the retention rate once employed is
very high.

Classes are limited to 20 students and are free. Classes will be
offered Monday-Thursday 1:30-4 p.m. in Pagosa Springs are slated to
begin Jan. 3.

For more information or to sign up for Skills, Tasks and Results
Training program for hospitality careers, contact Ashlee Allen,
project coordinator, at (970) 769-1682 or via e-mail at
Ashlee@durangoaec.org. Local information can also be obtained from
the Archuleta County Education Center 264-2835.

Planning Commission

The Archuleta County Planning Commission will hold its regular
meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, in the Board of County
Commissioners' Meeting Room in the county courthouse. Public comment
is welcome and encouraged.

The agenda includes:

- Call to order / roll-call.

- Review of Sketch Plan for Wagner Minor Impact Subdivision.

This is a request to obtain approval of the Sketch Plan to
subdivide two lots of 7.75 and 7.21 acres, respectively, from a
14.96-acre tract of land, for purposes of possible future resale of
one of the lots, and to use the second lot for the construction of
the applicant's primary single family residence.

The property is located at 179 Navajo Road. Legal Description:
SW4, NW4 of Section 28, and the SE4, NE4 of Section 29, Township 33N,
R5W, N.M.P.M.

This is a request to obtain approval of a Sketch Plan to legally
subdivide a single parcel of 58.70 acres into three lots of 20.7,
18.2, and 19.8 acres, respectively, for purposes of future resale.

This property is located in NW4, SW4, NW4 of Section 15, Township
34N, R1W, N.M.P.M. The three proposed lots have been tentatively
addressed as 357, 483, and 531 Whispering Woods Drive (Lots 1, 2, and
3 respectively).

- Review of the planning commission Nov. 9, 2005 minutes.

- Other business that may come before the planning commission.

- Adjournment.

Local Chatter

The library needs volunteers
... and potlucks

By Kate Terry

PREVIEW Columnist

If the Ruby Sisson Library volunteers were following tradition,
they would be holding a potluck for the staff this Friday (second
Friday in December), with husbands invited.

But, because the jobs or volunteers were limited at the mini
library (while the main library was under new construction),
volunteers sort of scattered (after all, six months is a long time),
and so the decision was made to forego the potluck.

Some asked, "Why?" but the most mumbling has been from husbands.
They're missing the food!

But, come next year, when all is settled down, the potlucks will
be resumed.

In the meantime, the library needs volunteers. Some have moved
away and others have not checked in. If you would like to volunteer,
let yourself be known at the desk.

Volunteer hours are important. They count toward grants. These
past few years, 3,000-plus hours have been reported each year. But
this year, the total will be much lower because the help hasn't been
needed. This will change.

A beautiful quilt is on display at the library. It was given to
the Pagosa Women's Civic Club as a fund-raiser for Sisson Library.

It was handmade by the Pagosa Piecemakers. It is queen size and
has an autumn leaves pattern in fall colors. Tickets are $5 each. The
raffle will be Dec. 22. Tickets can be purchased from civic club
members or at the library.

Around Town

If talented people don't already live here, they move here (I'm
convinced) to use their talents. The Music Boosters' production of
Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" was superb from all positions - the
characters, the orchestra, the set and the direction.

It was a rich holiday experience for all who were there.

Fun on the Run

Resumé blunders Š

How bad a mistake can you spot on a resumé? Here are some
genuine goof-ups.

- "My intensity and focus are at inordinately high levels, and my
ability to complete projects on time is unspeakable."

- "Created a new market for pigs by processing, advertising and
selling a gourmet pig mail order service on the side."

Community Center News

Community center alive with
holiday cheer

By Becky Herman

PREVIEW Columnist

The Christmas trees in the lobby and the gym are full of lights
and decorations; wreaths hang outside the building and in the halls,
office and conference rooms. The spirit of the season is alive and
well at the community center.

Special thanks to Erma and Reuben Mesa and Lura Thomson for their
help in making the center a festive location for our holiday events.

Mercy reports that her time with family and friends in the
Philippines started out on a very busy note but said she is now
settling into the fun and relaxing stage. She asked that I pass along
greetings to all her Pagosa friends and tell everyone who has been
calling her at the center that she will be back in the office Dec.
14.

Yoga class

In West Boylston, Mass., veterans of World War II and the Vietnam
and Korean wars are learning how yoga can help with posttraumatic
stress, from which one in eight combat vets suffers. After some
initial reluctance, all the participants in a Central Mass. Yoga
Institute program designed specifically for veterans are finding some
freedom from both physical and mental pain. Not only do they now
believe that the program has been of great help to them, but they are
recommending something similar for the veterans returning from Iraq.

Come to Richard Harris' Thursday yoga class (11 a.m.-noon) to see
for yourself the kind of benefits the Massachusetts veterans are
experiencing. All are welcome to join this free program. Please bring
a towel or yoga mat and dress in comfortable clothes. Call 264-4152
for more information.

Scrapbooking

The last meeting of the scrapbooking group for 2005 will take
place 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 10.

Teresa Mael will demonstrate how to use acrylic stamps. These
stamps are mounted on a clear base so you can always see exactly
where your stamped image is going. Teresa will talk about
embellishments to stamped images and how to care for your stamps.
Members of the scrapbooking group will also have time to work on
their individual projects.

Come and be part of the fun. For information, call Melissa Bailey
at 731-1574.

Aus-Ger Club

The Austrian/German Club will meet at noon Thursday, Dec 22, at
the Buffalo Inn. The chef will prepare some German dishes for lunch.

There are no dues or set requirements for membership in this
informational and social group. For example, there is no requirement
that those who participate in the club know German. All those who are
interested in Austria or Germany, or the language and culture of
those countries, are welcome to attend.

Roger Behr, the new president, explained that the group is
interested in finding ways to locate others in the Pagosa community
who may not currently know about the club, but would participate in
club activities if they were aware of them. There has also been
interest in putting together a European trip to visit Austria and
Germany.

Call Roger at 731-0409 for more information.

Computer lab news

Last week we discussed some gift ideas for the computer/gadget
fans on your shopping list; however, all were hardware choices.

This week, I'm thinking about software. Lots of possibilities
here.

First, the fun stuff. Most of us like playing computer games.
There is evidence, I read, that playing computer games is good mental
exercise and is of special benefit to those of us who are getting
older. What a wonderful excuse to sit down for some game playing.
Last year, my friend Ann recommended a game called Bookworm - she
knows that I'm a word person. Although there is a free version
available (see popcap.com), the enhanced one has some really nifty
stuff in it. It is available online and costs $19.95. Be careful, if
you're a word person like me ... this one can be addictive. The
biggest advantage of the purchased version is that you can play
anytime; to play the free version you will need the Internet.

If you are looking for a game for a young person, it may be safest
to ask what they would like. Then, when you have an answer, check
carefully online or with other parents/grandparents to be certain
that the title is appropriate for your young person. Many games which
require purchase are available free to try. Do take advantage of
this, to better judge whether or not to buy. Good sources for games
are popcap.com, games.yahoo.com, and addictinggames.com.

Types of software other than entertainment include the necessary
things like anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, or applications
which perform a service such as helping you to manage your money,
organize your activities, create greeting cards or edit digital
pictures.

Subscriptions can be fun. How about a year's subscription to an
online newspaper? I liked the local newspaper where I used to live,
and with the online version I can still keep up with Maryland news.
Some online versions of newspapers are free and some you will have to
pay for. A Chinese friend of mine regularly reads the Hong Kong
papers online - in Chinese, of course.

If you're really short on money and have a little computer
expertise, give a gift of time and help. Set up a free e-mail account
for someone and teach him how to use it. Then be sure to send him a
message every day or so.

Or take digital pictures of a family event, edit them, print them
out and give a personal photograph album. If your gift recipient is
interested in genealogy, search the Internet for clues about her
family tree. Better yet, help her learn to find those clues herself.
Another idea is to install a free office suite on a friend's computer
and then spend time teaching your friend how to use it. Several years
ago, a friend of mine who knew how much I love cats and books, put
together a wonderful list of Internet resources for me - everything
from archival paper repair to special diets for sick kitties. I
consult that list even today.

New Year's Eve dance

Yes, Saturday, Dec. 31, from 9:05 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., the center
is again sponsoring a dance for adults. Come join us for dancing or
just enjoy listening to the music. Again, this is a BYOB event hence
it's for 21 years and above. Be prepared to show your ID at the door.

Snacks and hot and cold beverages will be provided by the center.
Tickets may be purchased before the dance for $15 per person or $25
for a couple. Ticket sales will end at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30, and
none will be available at the door.

John Graves and Company, who will provide the music, is a quartet
of distinguished musicians. They excel as instrumentalists, and also
as singers and entertainers.

Trumpeter Larry Elginer supplemented his career as a high school
music teacher, band, orchestra and choral conductor by playing
private parties and events with many of the finest musicians and
groups in the Los Angeles area. He is now the co-conductor of the
Pagosa Springs Community Choir and Jazz Ensemble.

Bassist Susanna Ninichuck has played and sung with bands of all
sizes and styles. She also plays a number of other instruments,
including keyboard, drums, trumpet and tuba. Also on her resume are
stints as a Hollywood stuntwoman, actress, choreographer, director
and teacher of a course on opera history.

Drummer Kim Graves joined the Los Angeles Professional Musicians
Union when he was 11 years old. He played with his dad, John, and
other leaders at private parties all through his high school and
junior high years. While attending college he worked in some big
bands, which often accompanied celebrity stage shows. He is now an
airline pilot living in Phoenix.

Keyboard player John Graves' main career was in the television and
film industries, but he has always played several nights a week, or
between film assignments, as a single pianist, side man or band
leader. He played private parties for Judy Garland, Groucho Marx,
Danny Thomas and John Wayne. He has recorded, been a staff pianist at
KLAC-TV, was on the first Betty White show, and accompanied such
artists as George Burns, June Christy, Helen O'Connell, Rosemary
Clooney, Rudy Vallee, Redd Foxx, Arthur Duncan and Jimmy Durante.

Center's hours

To further serve our community we extended our hours of operation. We are open Monday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; and Saturday. 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. We encourage everyone, especially those interested in basketball, volleyball and computer use, to take advantage of these new hours.

Programs needed

Do you have a special talent or hobby you would like to share -
singing, dancing, arts and crafts, cooking, foreign language
conversation, sports, etc.? We're looking for volunteers interested
in forming interest groups. Call Mercy at 264-4152.

Need a place to have a party or meeting? We have very affordable
rooms for small, mid-size and large groups. A catering kitchen is
also available. Tables, chairs, a portable stage, a dance floor and
audiovisual equipment are available, too. The center is located at
451 Hot Springs Blvd. Call 264-4152.

Senior News

The Den extends a helping hand

By Jeni Wiskofske

SUN Columnist

Operation Helping Hand receives donations from the community and
distributes them to families, children and senior citizens in need
during the holiday season.

The Den is going to sponsor a food drive through Dec. 13 to
support Operation Helping Hand and as a way to give back to our
community. We will be accepting canned goods and non-perishable food
items. The food donation boxes will be located in the lounge. Please
bring in a can or box of food and help those in need this holiday
season.

Sound of Assurance

The Sound of Assurance, Susie Long and Judy Patton, will perform a
holiday celebration at The Den, 12:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9. They will
entertain us with good old classic holiday songs and sing-alongs.
This will be a great chance for those of us at The Den to practice
our singing voices for our big debut caroling later in the month.

Community Choir concert

The Community Choral Society holiday concert will be 7-9 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9 and Saturday, Dec. 10, in the community center gym.

The choir was formed by folks in our community who love to sing
and want to share their love of music with others. The concert is
free to all, so join in and celebrate the holiday season with a night
of festive musical favorites with family and friends.

Mental Health Month

Depression in the older adult population can sometimes be confused
with normal age-related changes such as appetite loss, decreased
physical activity and disrupted sleep patterns.

Many times, individuals who are depressed either do not recognize
the symptoms or they refrain from sharing their feelings with others.
When physical illness and depression occur at the same time, it is
even harder to accurately diagnose depression.

It is important that depression be diagnosed because if it remains
untreated it can get worse and/or complicate a coexisting medical
problem.

The main features of depression are persistent sadness that may
last for two weeks or more, accompanied by changes in the person's
usual patterns, behaviors or moods. Physical symptoms that may
accompany depression include aches and pains, fatigue and changes in
sleeping patterns. Emotional symptoms are anxiety, feelings of
emptiness and hopelessness, apathy and crying. Behavioral symptoms
may include the loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities,
neglect of appearance, difficulty with daily tasks, withdrawal from
people or irritability.

Nutrition can also play a key role in the onset, severity and
duration of depression, including daily mood swings. Food patterns
that may precede and occur during depression are poor appetite, binge
eating and a desire for sweets.

People who follow extremely low carb diets are at risk of feeling
depressed, because the brain chemicals that promote a feeling of
well-being are lacking. How and which carbohydrates affect mood and
depression is not very clear. Depression is also linked to a lack of
certain vitamins, such as B6, B12 and folic acid. The bottom line is
that food plays a key role in maintaining mental health. Get into the
habit of eating regularly throughout the day, replace sweets with
fruits and whole grain carbs and drink plenty of water.

The more you can observe and be aware of the signs of depression,
the more likely you are to help yourself or someone you know seek
professional treatment if necessary.

Fight the holiday blues

The holidays are supposed to be a joyful time of good cheer and
optimistic hopes. Yet, it is not unusual for many of us to feel sad
or lonely during the holiday period - a condition that has come to be
called the "holiday blues."

Holiday depression most commonly happens during the December
holidays when it may seem like just about everyone in the world is
celebrating in some way. While they may be intense and unsettling,
holiday blues are usually short-lived, lasting for a few days to a
few weeks prior to or just after the holidays, and usually subside
after the holiday season is over and daily routines are resumed. At 1
p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, Susan Stoffer, a professional counselor, will
be at The Den offering a valuable presentation on how to add some fun
to those holiday blues. If you know someone who is having a difficult
time this holiday season, please attend to learn what you can do to
offer a helping hand.

Mountain Harmony

The Pagosa Springs' ladies barber shop group, better known as
Mountain Harmony, will visit us at The Den, 12:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Dec. 14. They are going to do what they do best - entertain us with
their lovely voices and lift our spirits with the sounds of the
holiday season.

Soak at The Springs

Along the banks of the San Juan River, are 18 soaking pools of
"naturally hot therapeutic mineral water." The source of these
mineral-rich waters is the famous Great Pagosa Aquifer - the world's
largest and deepest hot mineral spring. The Springs Resort has
invited The Den to experience the tranquility of the hot springs, 1-3
p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, free of charge. This generous offer is
extended to 20 fortunate people, so sign up quick in The Den office
to take advantage of an afternoon of pleasure. Either bring your own
towel or you can rent one for $1. Lockers (if needed) are $2. Whether
you are interested in seeking healing, relaxation or rejuvenation,
our local spring is a great way to enjoy quiet conversation and time
with good friends while immersing yourself into the serenity and
peacefulness of the pools.

Help others - volunteer

The December holiday season is gearing up and with it comes many
charitable projects filled with the spirit of giving. It is a
wonderful time to support your neighbors and your community with
volunteer service.

The Den is going to give back to our community by helping
Operation Helping Hand at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, at the Extension
Building on U.S. 84. Operation Helping Hand distributes food,
clothing and other items to those in need in our community over the
holidays. The Den will help sort our clothing and other donations
into "something old, something new" piles so the items can then be
organized into gift packages. Please sign up in The Den office by
Friday, Dec. 9, to volunteer and lend a helping hand to those who are
less fortunate this holiday season. Transportation is available if
needed, with limited seating available.

Arboles party

The Den will celebrate the holidays with a holiday party in
Arboles Thursday, Dec. 15, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The 15th is also
declared "Red and Green Day," so wear your holiday colors.

Festivities will begin before lunch with a spread of appetizers
graciously provided by Seniors Inc. After lunch, we will have a
"bring a gift, get a gift" holiday gift exchange. Santa Claus is also
coming to town and making a stop in Arboles to bring a little cheer.
And, if that's not enough, we are honored to have John Graves on the
piano, accompanied by vocalist June Marquez, join us for sing-alongs
to some of our favorite holiday songs. The holiday party is
guaranteed to be fun for all so join us for the festivities.

Party at The Den

Happy holidays and ho ho ho! Egg nog and the mistletoe. Join us to
celebrate this holiday season, for the fun and friendship - which are
the best reasons. The Den will celebrate the holidays with a holiday
party at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16. The festivities will begin before
lunch with appetizers such as cheese balls, crackers and other finger
food graciously provided by Seniors Inc. After lunch, we will have a
"bring a gift, get a gift" holiday gift exchange. If you would like
to participate in the gift exchange, all you have to do is buy a
gift, wrap it, label it with the appropriate "male," "female" or
"both," so everyone knows if your gift is gender specific, then place
it under the tree. After all of our bellies are full, we will take
turns visiting our lovely decorated tree and choosing a gift. (But
remember, you have to bring a gift and place it under the tree to
receive one.) Santa Claus is coming to town and making a stop at The
Den to bring a little cheer to our holiday party. John Graves will
accompany vocalist June Marquez, so join us at The Den at 1 p.m. for
sing-alongs to some of our favorite holiday songs.

Whether you are interested in the appetizers, the gifts, Santa
Claus, the holiday sing-along with John Graves or just hanging out
with your friends, The Den's holiday party is guaranteed to be fun
for all. The 16th is also declared "Red and Green Day" so wear your
holiday colors to add to the festivity of the party.

Computer lab news

(By Becky Herman)

Last week we discussed some gift ideas for the computer/gadget
fans on your shopping list; however, all were hardware choices. This
week, I'm thinking about software. Lots of possibilities here.

First, the fun stuff. Most of us like playing computer games.
There is evidence, I read, that playing computer games is good mental
exercise and is of special benefit to those of us who are getting
older. What a wonderful excuse to sit down for some game playing!
Last year my friend Ann recommended a game called Bookworm - she
knows that I'm a word person. Although there is a free version
available (see popcap.com), the enhanced one has some really nifty
stuff in it. It is available online and costs $19.95. Be careful, if
you're also a word person, this one can be addictive. The biggest
advantage of the purchased version is that you can play anytime; to
play the free version you will need the Internet.

If you are looking for a game for a young person, it may be safest
to ask what they would like. Then when you have an answer check
carefully online or with other parents/grandparents to be certain
that the title is appropriate for your young person. Many games which
require purchase are available free to try. Do take advantage of
this, to better judge whether or not to buy. Good sources for games
are popcap.com, games.yahoo.com, and addictinggames.com. Types of
software other than entertainment include the necessary things like
anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, or applications which perform a
service such as helping you to manage your money, organize your
activities, create greeting cards, or edit digital pictures.

Subscriptions can be fun. How about a year's subscription to an
online newspaper? I liked the local newspaper where I used to live,
and with the online version I can still keep up with Maryland news.
Some online versions of newspapers are free and some you will have to
pay for. A Chinese friend of mine regularly reads the Hong Kong
papers online - in Chinese, of course.

If you're really short on money and have a little computer expertise, give a gift of time and help. Set up a free e-mail account for someone and teach him how to use it. Then be sure to send him a message every day or so. Or take digital pictures of a family event, edit them, print them out, and give a personal photograph album. If your gift recipient is interested in genealogy, search the Internet for clues about his family tree. Better yet, help him learn to find those clues himself. Another idea is to install a free office suite on a friend's computer and then spend time teaching your friend how to use it. Several years ago, a friend of mine who knew how much I love cats and books, put together a wonderful list of Internet resources for me  everything from archival paper repair to special diets for sick kitties. I consult that list even today.

Volunteers needed

The Silver Foxes Den Senior Center has an opportunity for you to
make new friends while you donate your time for our senior citizens.

Make an immediate impact on someone's life and volunteer as a
driver for medical shuttles to Durango to help those with medical
appointments who are unable to drive themselves. A county vehicle and
the fuel are provided for the shuttle. You must have good people
skills and be a safe driver. All applications are currently being
accepted in The Den office. A background check will be completed on
all candidates.

For more information, contact Musetta at 264-2167. Please make a
difference, and volunteer.

Medicare information

Have questions regarding the new Medicare Drug Insurance plans?
The Den can help.

Medicare Drug Insurance appointments can be scheduled at The Den
for the following dates and times: Friday, Dec. 2, from 9:30
a.m.-noon; Mondays, Dec. 5, 12 and 19, from 11 a.m.&emdash;1 p.m.;
and Tuesdays, Dec. 6, 13, 20 and 21, from 9:30 a.m.-noon. Walk-ins
without appointments will not be accepted.

We are also expecting informative printed information from the
State Division of Insurance regarding the new Medicare Drug Insurance
plans. Please call The Den at 264-2167 for an appointment to answer
your questions and help you choose a plan that best fits your needs.

The Archuleta County Veterans Service Office
will move by the end of this year to a new location at 46 Eaton
Drive, Suite 1.

This building was the former Bank of the
Southwest and is located behind the City Market on the west side of
town. It is expected, at this time, that Archuleta County Planning
Department offices, the Colorado Workforce Center and Colorado
Driver's License Office will also move to this location.

Phone number change

I expect the phone numbers will also change
for this office and I will be sure to inform all my readers of that
change as soon as I know it. I'm sure there will be a phone number
rollover set up so, if you call the old number, it will either inform
you of the new number or the call will roll over to the new
number.

However, for the time being, I will be in
the same location in the basement of the courthouse with the same
phone numbers.

Other Archuleta County departments will be
using my old space after the move. Our aging county courthouse has
run out of room for expanding county services.

VA budget matters

Last week I wrote about the approved VA
budget for next year. If you read the whole article - which was
basically just the official news release - you may have noticed at
the very bottom some mention of money allocated to assist "rural
veteran" health care issues.

Frankly, I feel this was mostly "lip
service," not addressing the real problems with providing VA health
care for our rural veterans. They said they were going to allocate
money for information to rural veterans.

Real help needed

We don't need "information" for rural
veteran health care assistance; we need the VA health care system to
contract with local community clinics to provide primary health care
for our rural veterans.

Further, we need the VA health care system
to work with Medicare for veterans who are over 65 and eligible for
both Medicare and VA health care. They should share information and
allow Medicare veterans to obtain their primary health care with
their regular Medicare providers and allow those providers to send
the veteran's prescriptions to the VA.

Unneeded
duplications

As I have often written here, this would
reduce the VA budget by eliminating duplicate services for the same
patients and provide local health care for Medicare eligible
veterans. The Medicare provider would send the patient's
prescriptions to the VA Pharmacy program and the veteran would
receive them in the mail.

Older veterans

Many of our Medicare eligible veterans are
70 and 80 years old and frequently must travel a long distance to
Albuquerque VA Medical Center for routine matters and prescription
renewals that could be handled locally. It isn't cost effective for
the VA and it certainly is not cost effective for our aging veterans.

Currently, Albuquerque VAMC does not provide
mileage reimbursement or overnight accommodations for an estimated 95
percent of our veterans traveling to this facility. This means the
entire cost of travel is borne on the backs of these very elderly
veterans, usually on fixed incomes. Completely unacceptable!

Write congressmen

If you agree with me, I urge you to write
our congressmen and senators in this regard. Urge them to support
changes in the VA that would allow VA and Medicare to share
information and work together for our elderly veterans.

I estimate that seven out of 10 veterans I
have enrolled in VA health care are over 65 and are enrolling just
for the prescription drug benefit. But they have to go to VA medical
facilities to get those prescriptions approved. My plan would
eliminate this wasted and unneeded duplication of services.

It could prove so cost effective that the VA
health care system could once again open its enrollment to all
honorably discharged veterans, instead of basing enrollment solely on
income or VA service-connected disability ratings.

It is time for some serious changes in the
VA health care system for our aging veterans.

Share-A-Ride

Don't forget to call or stop by my office
with your VA health care appointments for the Share-A-Ride program.
Help a fellow veteran who may be going in the same direction to the
same VA facility. Give me a call if you can provide transportation or
need transportation. I will keep a calendar of who is going where to
coordinate this important program.

Durango VA Clinic

The Durango VA Outpatient Clinic is located
at 400 South Camino Del Rio, Suite G, (next to Big 5 Sports). Phone
number is 247-2214. Albuquerque VAMC phone number is (800)
465-8262.

More Information

For information on these and other veterans'
benefits please call or stop by the Archuleta County Veterans Service
Office located on the lower floor of the county courthouse. The
office number is 264-8375, the fax number is 264-8376, and e-mail is
afautheree@archuletacounty.org. The office is open from 8 to 4,
Monday through Thursday, Friday by appointment. Bring your DD Form
214 (Discharge) for registration with the County, application for VA
programs, and for filing in the VSO office.

Library News

When, what and how to read

By Christine Eleanor Anderson

PREVIEW Columnist

How do you find time to read? How do you
select what you read? And, how do you decide "how" to read a
particular book, or article or Web subject?

When I was a child there was a lot of work
to do on the farm. Daytime reading was a rare luxury and we were sent
to bed at 8 p.m. When the coast was clear, I often got up and read by
the nightlight in the bathroom. In the winter, when it was too cold
in the bathroom, I read by the light of the electric blanket control.
Later, in high school, I read novels behind my textbooks while class
was in session.

Finding time to read has never gotten
easier. The wider the universe of my curiosity, the more irksome the
proposition has become. I try to go to bed and turn out the lights at
9 p.m. but one recent Saturday night I just needed to get away. I
read the last half of the new Harry Potter between 9 and 11 that
night Š and paid for it the next morning when the alarm rang at 5
a.m. There's no free lunch Š except maybe for audio tapes. On my
Thanksgiving trip to Los Angeles, I listened to one of our new
acquisitions, "The Shadow of the Wind" by Zafon. It was a free lunch,
and a pretty good one at that.

Then, we have what I feel, at least, is the
grave matter of selection of reading material.

I'm not a great Zig Zigler fan, but I cannot
forget his statement in "How to be a Winner," about "feeding your
mind." I agree with him that one needs to feed ones mind good stuff.
Therefore, one needs to select good stuff and be rigorous, but not
rigid, about fending off junk reading. A potato chip now and then
isn't a crime, but a diet of them will make you (a) fat
(head).

All but the most classic of works get a
limited audition for a place in my time allocation. I stand in the
bookstore, or at the library shelf, and speed read the last chapter
to decide if this newcomer is worthy of my attention. Often, the book
will fail and I will put it out of my mind. Sometimes, as with "Kite
Runner," the book wins a bookmark, or maybe even a checkout, in my
mind.

Sometimes a book review will decide my
choice, but even then, I'll usually preview the book, either by the
last chapter, if it's fiction, by checking some set of facts against
my knowledge base, if it's history, or a recipe, if it's a cookbook.
Selecting in non fiction areas where I have no background is more
difficult. But I don't "do" blind dates with books. Life is too
short.

So, first, we have the issue of finding time
to read. Then we have the matter of selection of the reading
material. Finally, we have to decide how we are going to read what we
have selected.

In my first weeks at the University of
Illinois I took an Evelyn Wood's speed reading class. Speed reading
is a great skill to add to your life. Many novels, even good ones,
fall into the speed reading category for me. If they are really good,
they can, and will, be reread.

Still, there are certain kinds of materials
that one cannot speed read. Law school casebooks, for instance, do
not lend themselves to speed reading. Scott Turow, in his book, "One
L," about the first year of law school, characterized learning to
read cases as "Learning to stir cement with your eyelashes." Too
true!

If the poetry book is good enough for me to
read, I will probably want to spend enough time to memorize one or
more poems. The lifetime of rich reward is a line in Frost coming
back every November or with every "Reluctance" in life.

If the garden book, or the cookbook, is good
enough to check out, it's probably good enough to buy, to read
slowly, and to think about. I have a friend who says that if you use
one or two recipes from a cookbook for the rest of your life, it's a
great book. I think he's right.

Being a citizen in these difficult political
times has demanded a different reading approach. After 9/11, I
started going into the web every week and checking the content of The
American Conservative as well as the Nation, The Weekly Standard,
Orion, the Guardian and The Denver Post. I balance Buckley's NRO with
commondreams.org or truthout.org. In each, I try to speed read some
article that piques my curiosity. I admit to giving up on Le Monde,
because the time required by my unsophisticated grasp of French was
just too much. Oh well.

If you are what you eat, you are, even more
surely, what you read. Are you happy with the materials you are
putting into your mind? Are you happy with the time you give to them?
Are you pleased with how you have decided to read them? Now is the
time for New Year's resolutions about reading.

As always, this was a fun event and a great
way to kick off the holiday season. Many thanks to the participating
galleries, guest artists and a special thanks to Marti Capling -
PSAC's chairperson for the tour - for all her hard work and effort in
coordinating this year's gallery walk.

Perfect gift

This is the first year for a calendar
produced by local artists with subject matter reflecting Pagosa
Country.

Our 14-page full color calendar features
images for the 12 months, as well as a cover image. Works featured
are from local artists Bruce Andersen, J. D. Kurz, Jan Brookshier,
Sabine Baeckman-Elge, Jeanine Malaney, Jeff Laydon, Ginnie Bartlett,
Claire Goldrick, Barbara Rosner and Tom Lockhart.

The 2006 calendars are available through the
Arts Council at a price of $9.95 plus tax for nonmembers and $8.95
plus tax for members. They make great Christmas gifts.

Don't forget the gallery is on winter hours.
Feel free to call ahead and reserve copies to be picked up when we
are open: Tuesday and Thursday 11-2. Calendars are also available at
The Chamber of Commerce, Moonlight Books and Lantern Dancer.

The PSAC gallery gift shop also has local
artist items for sale. Available items vary from cards or bookmarks
for only a couple of dollars each to higher priced limited prints,
woodworking, silk items, and more.

Drawing with Davis

Drawing with Randall Davis begins Saturday
at 9 a.m. Randall's sessions usually finish up around 3 p.m. at the
community center.

If you do not consider yourself an artist,
that's OK. You won't be lost; Randall gives a lot of one-on-one
attention as well as an excellent step-by-step demonstrations. If you
have never attended one of his classes, it's a treat to see what you
can produce in a day under his guidance.

All you need to bring is a large sketchpad,
a few drawing pencils; preferably a mid-range No. 2 or 3 and a 6 in a
bold lead and in a hard lead, a ruler, eraser and an attitude to
enjoy the day. Bring your own sack lunch, since you'll be having so
much fun you won't want to take the time away from drawing to go get
one.

It's best to make a reservation through
PSAC, 264-5020. The gallery is on winter hours now and is only
staffed two days a week, but someone will get back to you as soon as
possible. Space allowing, walk-ins are always welcome.

Watercolor club

The PSAC Watercolor Club was formed in the
winter of 2003. Since that time, Pagosa watercolorists have met at 10
a.m. the third Wednesday of each month in the arts and craft space at
the community center. The rooms are available to us for the day and
we each contribute $5 for the use of the space.

The program for the day varies: some times
we have a demonstration of technique from a professional
watercolorist or framer; other times a few people bring still lifes
or photos or other projects they want to complete. Come join us,
bring your lunch and your watercolor supplies for a fun day.

Due to the holiday season, the meeting in
December will be held Dec. 14. In January it will go back to the
third Wednesday of the month.

Photo club meeting

The Pagosa Photography Club will meet 5:30
p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, in the arts room at the community center.

This month's program will include a
roundtable discussion about problems and solutions for scanning
negatives and transparencies into digital files.

Photo competitions are held at each club
meeting. The two competition categories are the theme category and
the open category - where any subject is allowed. This month's theme
is "Multiple Exposures." Members may enter one print in each
category. This is a reduction from the number allowed in the past.
Ribbons are awarded in each category to the top three prints as voted
by the members.

The photography club meets the second
Wednesday of each month during the club year from September through
May. Current paid-up memberships for 2004-2005 will remain in effect
through May 2006. Interested photography enthusiasts are welcome to
attend the first meeting at no charge. Any and all are invited to
join for a modest annual fee. For more information, contact club
president Jim Struck at 731-6468 or jim@perfassoc.com.

Basics of watercolor

The Basics of Watercolor for Absolute
Beginners is being offered by Denny Rose and Ginnie Bartlett, Jan.
11, 12 and 13 at the community center, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Bring your
lunch. Cost for the workshop is $150 for PSAC members and $175 for
nonmembers.

This is your opportunity to learn all of the
things you wish you had been taught when you first started painting
in watercolor. This workshop will cover brushes - their care and how
to use them to make the marks you need to create your own painting;
watercolor papers - what surface to use, what weight to buy; pigments
- how to mix colors and properties of colors; and much more about
each item of equipment.

Each day will begin with lessons and
handouts on a given subject and the afternoon will be spent creating
a painting utilizing the points from the morning's lesson, the
overhead mirror and the follow-me format.

This workshop is for adults who have always
wanted to try their hands at watercolor but were afraid to attend
other workshops. It is a chance to learn to paint with others who are
afraid they have no talent, or who have struggled to learn on their
own with limited success.

Learn the basics, especially the things you
need to know about materials and techniques to begin the process of
creating your own works of art. With two instructors, there is plenty
of individual attention and assistance.

This is the first of three workshops, with other offered later in the winter. This is the only workshop series Denny and Ginnie will teach in Pagosa during the next year. Basics II is scheduled Jan. 25-27 and Intermediate I is scheduled Feb. 8-10. For additional information on the content of the workshop you can call Ginnie at 731-2489 or Denny at 731-6113. Class size is limited, so sign up early at the Pagosa Springs Arts Council building in Town Park or call 264-5020. Don't forget the PSAC gallery is on winter hours, with limited personnel there Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. So leave a phone message if no one answers and we'll get back with you as soon as possible. Materials list will be available when you register.

Winter hours

The Pagosa Springs Arts Council Gallery in
Town Park is now on its winter-hours schedule. Hours are Tuesday and
Thursday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Voice mail and e-mail are checked regularly,
so please leave a message if no one is available in the
office.

PSAC calendar

All PSAC classes and workshops are held in
the arts and craft Space at the community center, unless otherwise
noted.

All Exhibits are shown at the PSAC Gallery
in Town Park, unless otherwise noted.

Artsline is a communication vehicle of the
Pagosa Springs Arts Council. For inclusion in Artsline, send
information to PSAC e-mail (psac@centurytel.net). We would love to
hear from you regarding suggestions for Artsline. Events in
surrounding areas will be included when deemed of interest to our
readers.

Food for
Thought

There's never enough garlic

By Karl Isberg

PREVIEW Columnist

I lie in my little bed at night, and ask myself: Is there such a
thing as too much garlic?

Oh, I suppose a ton or so dumped on the front porch would be
considered "too much." But, I'm referring to the use of the stinking
rose in food.

I realize, of course, that certain qualifications must be made,
most notably one based on a distinction between uncooked garlic and
cooked garlic.

It is easy to imagine too much uncooked garlic, the raw deal
distributed indiscriminately throughout a dish. Oh, yeah, even the
most avid lover of garlic could surrender at some point in the
process if the prima materia were raw.

But, cooked?

Just before I wend my way to dreamland, after I've reviewed my
garlic basics, I have the answer to my question: Is there such a
thing as too much garlic?

No.

The next day, I set out to establish a measure of proof for my
position.

One wall of my foundation rests on the reality of roasted garlic.
The stuff changes nature, exchanges its harsh, often bitter
characteristics for a more pleasant character. I can eat properly
roasted cloves of garlic like snack nuts. I'm sure you can, too.

Second, I know it is darned hard to over-garlic a tomato sauce,
given the sauce is cooked long enough.

My argument relies on the fact the noble clove mellows
considerably when cooked. The longer it is cooked, and the bigger the
chunk of garlic, the milder it is when eaten. Still a bit prominent
on the breath, mind you, but easier to consume.

You see, with garlic, the smaller the pieces, and in particular if
those pieces are mashed, the more volatile chemicals are released
from the flesh. Those volatile chemicals are, of course, the elements
that make the vegetable stinky. Raw, mashed or shredded garlic is a
culinary weapon that should be wielded by masters only.

But, a big piece of garlic, or a whole clove, cooked long and slow
- braised or roasted - is a different animal entirely. Sweet, its
rough edges gone, its effect mitigated, it is a lovely ingredient,
hard to abuse with even the clumsiest paws.

I decided to do a test run to further cement my theory.

How about a take on the notorious Chicken with 40 cloves of
garlic?

I remember the first time I enjoyed the bird fixed thus. I was a
lad, just back to Denver from my adventures in musicland in New York
City and all points in between, and I was (as the jargon went at the
time) "crashing" with a pair of dubious hippie lovebirds in a hovel
located in Capitol Hill. Pierre and Caspienne - poetry- and
hormone-intoxicated bongo-playing quasi-students - had taken up
cooking and drinking wine as a hobby.

Seemed fine to me. I was able to eat all manner of whole grain
concoctions, and "rest" during my tenure in their "pad."

I tended to "rest" a lot, having expended an enormous amount of
energy finding my way back to the Rockies from the Big Apple (remind
me to tell you about Oxford, Ohio, sometime) and, one evening, I was
awakened by the most extraordinary smell.

Garlic.

I staggered down a flight of rickety stairs, stumbled over a
couple of old cats and lurched into the "dining room," which also
served as the "living room" and a "bedroom."

In other words, the room contained a mattress-cum-dining table
draped with a threadbare paisley bedspread, the space lit by a single
fixture - a lamp made from the shin bone of a wapiti on top of which
glowed a yellowed 60-watt bulb. There was a torn Family Dog poster
taped to the wall.

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.

Caspienne was inspired by a recipe read during her break as a
salesperson at the college bookstore. She scrounged the change needed
to purchase a scraggly chicken at the market and there was enough
left in hand to buy four heads of garlic. She borrowed salt and
pepper from the peyote-addled folks in the commune next door.

She crammed the peeled cloves of garlic inside the bird, seasoned
it, tossed it in the oven, successfully lit the oven without blowing
up the apartment and Š

It was just peachy, the chicken consumed in the company of several
glasses of four-day-old Almaden, all done to the accompaniment of
tunes from the first Big Brother and the Holding Company album played
on a battered Silvertone with only one working speaker.

Good times.

I think I can do the inimitable Caspienne one better. Jack the
recipe up a bit, if you will.

I got me a chicken and cut it into a bunch o' parts. I procured an
"organic" chicken to appease Kathy, since she refuses to buy my
argument that there are no inorganic chickens. I have had an e-mail
exchange recently with Henry Silver concerning the merits of Kosher
poultry and he, no doubt, and accurately, would recommend an organic,
Kosher chicken. Couldn't agree more - nothing beats proper,
personalized exsanguination of flesh destined for human consumption.
However the rascals are hard to come by at the local supermarket. If
we can talk our market into carrying them, make a point of buying a
few; you won't be disappointed.

I digress.

I snagged the chicken and cut it up. Eight pieces. I seasoned the
pieces with salt and pepper.

I sauteed the chicken (with skin, please) in a large braiser, four
pieces at a time, over medium high heat in olive oil, three minutes
or so on each side. The chicken was removed to a tented plate when
browned.

Into the braiser (could just as easily have been a Dutch oven
&emdash;fancy and enameled, or plain) went forty to fifty cloves of
peeled garlic. After the garlic spent a couple minutes over the heat,
back in went the chicken with some chopped fresh rosemary and chopped
fresh thyme. The braiser was covered with foil and went into a 400
degree oven for about 20 minutes, the hunks of bird getting the
occasional baste with pan juices.

The foil was removed. I threw in a mess of thinly sliced cremini
mushrooms, a bit of lemon zest. I popped the pan back in the oven,
uncovered, for another half hour or so until the chicken was done and
golden, toasty good.

Out came the chicken. The pan was put on the stovetop burner over
medium high heat and I slipped in a couple shallots, minced, a bit
more oil and cooked the shallots for two or three minutes. Then, I
deglazed the pan with a smidge of dry, white wine. The garlic was
mashed into the wine and another quarter cup of the wine was added
and cooked for about five minutes. In went about three-quarters of a
cup of chicken stock and a teaspoon of chicken demiglace and the
sauce was reduced by about half. The seasonings were adjusted, a
splash of heavy cream went in and about a half stick of unsalted
butter was swirled in a glob at a time. Back to the pan went the
chicken for a bath.

Served with a yam puree elevated with chopped, roasted green chile
and hunks of asadera cheese warmed until gooey and this stuff was
garlicky good.

Coulda used forty or so more cloves of garlic, if you ask me.
There's no such thing as too much.

More proof, you say?

The same basic approach would work with a braised beef - a pot
roast or a daube, with the garlic cloves and aromatic vegetables put
through a sieve into a sauce composed of reduced red wine, beef stock
and veal demiglace. Yow!

How about roasting potatoes with garlic. Sure, there's the
cliché garlic mashed potatoes and, despite the fact they are
ubiquitous in the restaurant trade, they are pretty darned good. But,
roasted potatoes, with all the benefit of roasted garlic?

Try this. Get some new potatoes or some red potatoes and cut them
into uniform hunks or spears. A head, preferably two, of garlic is
needed, the cloves separated but not peeled. The potatoes are
seasoned then spud chunks and garlic cloves are coated in olive oil
and some rosemary is added. The veggies are put in an oiled roasting
pan and nailed in a 350 oven for about 45 minutes, or until the spuds
are at a state of golden-brown glory. Oh, my: Put a bit of that herb
and garlic infused oil on the potatoes, pop out eight or ten cloves
of the buttery roasted garlic and mix well. Put a few cloves of
buttery garlic on bread, with some butter. Yikes!

Or, how about some beef tenderloin medallions lightly grilled then
finished in a 400 oven for a few minutes, the surfaces slicked with a
garlic glaze ala the recipe in "The Professional Chef" text from the
Culinary Institute of America.

Easy stuff. First, make a Sauce Marchand de Vin: minced shallots,
a couple sprigs of thyme, some cracked black peppercorns, a healthy
hit of red wine, a bay leaf - all combined and the mix reduced to a
syrupy state. A wad o' demiglace is added and the sauce is reduced
again to where it coats the back of a spoon. The sauce is strained
and butter is whisked in a blob at a time to finish.

To make the glaze, as per the recipe, the Sauce Marchand is mixed
with a healthy amount of pureed roasted garlic and some glace de
viand. ( A note here: glace de viand is a stock - veal, beef -
reduced to a jellied state. Who's got the time or patience, huh? Use
some commercial demiglace. Who'll know but you?)

The glaze is applied to the grilled medallions before they are
popped back in the oven for finishing. One can give the medallions a
sec under the broiler to brown the glaze.

Got a favorite recipe that calls for a lot of garlic?

Double the amount.

Invite friends over for dinner.

Don't forget: everyone has to partake (the old after-dinner mint
or sprig of parsley isn't going to do the trick).

If you can, for sentiment's sake, serve up a couple glasses of
four-day-old Almaden.

Anyone got a paisley bedspread?

Extension Viewpoints

Country Way of Life calendars
on sale now

By Bill Nobles

PREVIEW Columnist

Dec. 9 - Colorado Kids Club meeting, 2
p.m.

Dec. 9 - Beef Project meeting, 6:30
p.m.

Dec. 14 - Pagosa Peaks Club meeting, 6:30
p.m.

Not too long ago, residents of Colorado were
asked to submit photos that represented the country way of life for a
photo contest.

This contest was sponsored by Colorado Farm
Bureau Insurance. The 2006 calendars are not in yet, and are being
sold by local 4-H clubs and members for a fund-raiser. These
calendars are $5 and proceeds will go to the 4-H member's club and to
the 4-H Council. The front cover photograph just happens to be a
scene here in Pagosa Springs.

Give us a call if you are interested in
ordering any of these calendars, 264-5931.

Red Books are here

The 2006 Integrated Resource Management Red
Books are now available at the Extension Office for $5.

These books contain gestation tables, death
loss code, salving ease score, pasture usage, breeding and herd
management information, tables and places to record information along
with a yearly calendar and place for address or phone numbers.

Seedling
applications

We now have the 2006 Colorado Cooperators
Application for Seedling Trees at the Extension Office. Some
conditions of sale include that you must own at least two acres and
you can not resell plants as a living plant. If you have specific
questions about seedlings you may contact the Soil Conservation
District (NRCS) at 731-3615.

Registering livestock
premises

Officials at the Colorado Department of
Agriculture have set a goal of registering more than 20 percent of
livestock premises by the end of 2006.

In Colorado, nearly 700 locations are
registered, which is about 6 percent. Premises registration is the
first step in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which
will allow animal tracing to be completed within 48 hours of a
disease being detected.

"We want livestock owners to be proactive
because there are many benefits as well as added value for producers
once the system is fully operational," said Wayne Cunningham, state
veterinarian at the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
plans to make registration mandatory on January 1, 2008.

To meet next year's goal, officials are
collaborating with Colorado State University Cooperative Extension to
train at least one staff member in each office who can help with
registration as well as answer producer questions.

In Colorado, livestock owners can register
their location in just a few simple steps via the Internet. First,
access the information at www.livestocktrust.com and click on
Colorado. Next click on New User Registration and fill in the
required fields, using the designated U.S. Postal Service address. If
a producer has multiple sites, contact CDA to learn about the
specific premises guidelines, since each ranch and production system
is unique.

If the information entered is recognized by
the USDA as a valid USPS address, a premises identification number is
issued immediately. If the address is not recognized, allow about one
week for the information to be processed. Return to the Web site and
log in, using the designated name and password. Ranchers can access
information on their specific premises, account maintenance and
livestock activity.

In addition, producers who prefer to
register via telephone or mail must submit a request to their County
Extension office. Confirmation letters with the premises registration
information will be mailed on a monthly basis.

Premises registration involves identifying
every location, where animals are born, managed, marketed or
exhibited. Producers must register premises in the states where the
property is located.

"Although the program is voluntary at this
time, it's important for livestock owners to realize that their
livelihood can depend on providing and improving as many safeguards
as possible to our food supply," said Cunningham.

The goal of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's National Animal Identification System is to create an
effective, uniform national animal tracking system that will help
maintain the health of U.S. herds and flocks. When fully operational,
animal tracing ensures rapid containment of the disease.

For more information, visit the Web at
www.usda.gov/nais or contact the Colorado Department of Agriculture
at (303) 239-4161.

Check out our Web page at
www.archuleta.colostate.edu for calendar events and
information.

Pagosa Lakes News

Savor life ... lose your
marbles

By Ming Steen

SUN Columnist

Recreation center memberships and lake use
permits for 2006 will be available starting Thursday, Dec. 15 at the
center. I encourage you to get one of both for the family as part of
your holiday season gift-giving. It's a gift that lasts all year and
reaps benefits of health, shared family time and relaxation.

Renters who rent in Pagosa Lakes are
eligible for purchase of membership at property owner rates. A copy
of both the lease and utility bill are required at time of
purchase.

With the recent deaths of two friends, I
find myself taking an even closer scrutiny of my own life. Please
allow me to share this story with you (I first heard this at last
Thursday's Rotary Club meeting).

"A few weeks ago, I was listening to an
older sounding chap with a golden voice on a Saturday morning show.
He was talking to someone named Tom about 'a thousand marbles.' I was
intrigued and sat down to listen.

"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy
with jour job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have
to be away from home and family so much. Hard to believe a young
fellow should have to work 60-70 hours a week to make ends meet. Let
me tell you something, Tom, that has helped me keep a good
perspective on my own priorities.

"You see, I sat down one day and did a
little arithmetic. The average person lives about 75 years. I know,
some live more and some live less, but on average folks live about 75
years. Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900
which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their
entire lifetime. It took me until I was 55 to think this through in
detail, and by then, I had already used over 2,800 Saturdays. I
figured that if I lived to be 75, I had about a thousand Saturdays
left to enjoy. So I went out and bought 1,000 marbles and put them in
a large, clear plastic container here in my workshop.

"Every Saturday since, I take one marble out
and throw it away. By watching my marbles diminish, I focus more on
the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching
your time on earth run out to help you get your priorities
straight.

"One last thing before I sign off with you
and take my lovely wife out to breakfast. This morning, I took the
very last marble in the container. I figure if I make it until next
Saturday, then I have been blessed with a little extra time to be
with my loved ones. It was nice to talk to you, Tom, I hope you spend
more time with your loved ones. Have a good morning!"

My brother in Singapore has been watching
the marbles diminish and in trying to make up for the last 10 years
of missed Saturdays with his two sons, he promised the boys a treat
of their choosing. "We want to see New York City and Niagara Falls,"
they said. So, last Saturday, they arrived in New York from the
hothouse climate of the tropics to spend nine days (translate that
into nine missed Saturdays) in an Arctic zone. I have been worried
about them. I do so want them to have a great visit Š their special
time together as a family. I want Niagara Falls to meet the boys'
expectations, I want this series of Saturdays and all other Saturdays
to come to be meaningful for them.

The recreation center will close early
tomorrow, at 5 p.m., for the annual PLPOA staff holiday dinner. While
some folks are still trying to turn turkey into muscle, ham and
eggnog is being served. Eat up, work out hard and may all your
Saturdays be special and may you have many happy years after you lose
all your marbles.

Obituaries

John Gurule

John T. Gurule was born to Pedro and Cleofes Gurule on Jan. 10,
1929, in Frances, Colo., and entered into rest on Dec. 1, 2005, in
Durango, Colo. He was one of nine children. He lived in the Pagosa
Springs area, working for the Ponderosa Lumber Company, then moving
to Green River, Utah, where he transported uranium; returned to
Pagosa Springs in 1957, where he worked for Aubrey Fowler/Moorehead
Garage as a mechanic for several years. Then John worked for San Juan
Lumber Company hauling logs and lumber to various cities and states,
dabbled in construction with Lou Poma and Mr. Comstock, and lastly,
worked for Richter Logging Company from which he retired in 1994.

His interests included many activities that he shared with his
family and friends, including camping, traveling, hiking, hunting,
fishing, snowmobiling, motorcycling and Jeep fourwheeling . He lived
his life to the fullest; even at the age of 70 he was snowmobiling.
He kept up with the "boys," "grandma," daughters and grandchildren.
He was nominated president of the Tortilla Snowmobile Club.

He was married on Nov. 15, 1952, to Dolores Eduvigen Rivera,
having eight children. He continues to live through his children and
their families: George and Margie Gurule of Pagosa Springs; Ramona
Gurule of Pagosa Springs; Jerry and Cleofes Gurule-Williams of Pagosa
Springs; Tessie Garcia of Pagosa Springs; John and Vanessa Gurule of
Ridgway, Colo.; Steve and Margaret Gallegos of Pagosa Springs; Gerard
and Amy Gurule of Ignacio, Colo.; Anita Gurule of Pagosa Springs; and
Bobby and Linda Fernandez of Commerce City, Colo. He had 19
grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. Numerous nieces and nephews
also survive him. He has two surviving sisters, Marian Lovato of
Delta, Colo. and Rafelita Gallegos of Nyssa, Oregon. His brothers,
Manuel, Alonzo, Filadelfio Gurule, sisters Mary Martinez, Maria
Gurule and Teresita Gurule, and one granddaughter, Baby Mary, precede
him in death. He has been a loving brother, husband, father,
grandfather, great-grandfather, Godfather, uncle, great uncle,
cousin, mentor and friend.

John T. touched the lives of many people of all generations. His
love for his family and friends is evident by the calls, visits and
prayers that our family has received. Throughout his life, many
respected him. Although he was a man of very few words, we listened
when he spoke; he offered a voice of reason and insight, and offered
strength to those who felt they had none.

Visitation was held Sunday afternoon at La Quey Funeral Home.
Recitation of the Rosary was given Monday, Dec. 5, 2005, followed by
burial services on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005, at the Immaculate Heart of
Mary Catholic Church of Pagosa Springs. The Celebrant was Father
Carlos Alvarez. The Interment was held at Hilltop Cemetery.

Madena Hamilton

Madena Hamilton of Pagosa Springs passed away Nov. 26, 2005.
Madena, born Sept. 18, 1928, in Shattuck, Okla., was the daughter of
Gladstone and Iola Kahoe Firth. She was preceded in death by her
husband, Ralph Sr., her daughter Linda, a sister Marie, and both
parents. She is survived by her son, Ralph Jr., grandchildren Tonya
and Aaron Hamilton, great-granddaughter Shannon Rogers, all of Pagosa
Springs, twin sister Iris Kinney of Derby, Kan., brother Eugene Firth
of Oklahoma City, and brother Ray Firth of Gore, Okla. She married
Ralph Hamilton Sr. in June, 1946. They were longtime residents of
Albuquerque, N.M. She had moved to Pagosa Springs in 1996 following
the death of her husband. She owned a home in Pagosa Lakes, but had
recently become a resident of Pine Ridge Extended Care Center
following a stroke in July of 2005. The family asks that in lieu of
flowers, donations be made in her name to the Archuleta County Senior
Citizens Center or the Pine Ridge Activities Center. Burial and
services will take place in Oklahoma.

Christopher Young

Christopher Neil Young, 22, died Friday, December 2, 2005, in
Durango. A funeral service was held Wednesday, December 7, 2005, at
Our Savior Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Pagosa Springs. The Rev.
Les Judge of Our Savior Lutheran Church officiated.

Mr. Young was born December 30, 1982 in Denver, Colorado, the son
of Mark and Kathryn Young. Christopher graduated from Pagosa Springs
High School in 2002. He had worked for his father's business, "At
Your Disposal" and for Archuleta County. He was an avid fan of the
New York Yankees baseball team. He enjoyed playing softball himself
and had also been an umpire for the Pagosa Springs youth baseball
association. He was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Pagosa.

He is survived by his father, Mark, his mother, Kathryn, both of
Pagosa Springs, Amy Young (sister) of Pagosa Springs, Mark Young, Jr.
(brother) of Pagosa Springs, Jason Young (brother) of Pagosa Springs,
Carson Young Martinez (nephew) of Pagosa Springs, Gerald and Lois
Brinton (grandparents) of Pagosa Springs, Mary Young (grandmother) of
Denver, Harold and Pauline Young (grandparents) of Denver, and
numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Gordon O'Neal

Gordon Neal O'Neal passed away peacefully at his home in
Farmington, N.M., on Dec. 3, 2005, at the age of 72. He was born July
25, 1933, in Penn Yan, N.Y. to John (Buck) Ebon O'Neal and Nellie
Hannah Tallman O'Neal. He is survived by his wife of 32 years,
Vernette (Willie) O'Neal; daughter Mary Elizabeth O'Neal; four
grandchildren, Ashley Elizabeth, David Rufus, Ivy Rose and Kelly
Lynn; brother Vernon Ouray O'Neal (Shag); and wife Reyne; six nieces
and nephews, Veronica, Janice, Melissa, Patrick, Brian and Mary.

Gordon had a great love for life and was well loved and respected
by all who knew him. He was known as one who always had a kind word
and a great sense of humor. He was a wonderful storyteller and
historian. He was very talented, a jack-of-all-trades, and was always
willing to lend a helping hand to anyone around him. He was retired
from the Colorado State Highway Department, where he was employed for
25 years. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Services are pending.

Richard Walter

Richard Clark Walter, 69, of Pagosa Springs died December 2, 2005.

He was born in 1935 at Mercy Hospital in Durango to Nellie Hotz
Walter and David Walter.

The family later moved to Ignacio where his father served as
mayor.

Richard and his mother settled in Pagosa Springs in 1945.

After graduating from Pagosa Springs High School in 1953, he
attended Denver University for two years.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1956 and upon completion of
recruit training at USNTC Great Lakes, graduated from the center's
Journalism School. Then followed twenty months aboard the USS
Philippine Sea, assigned to the admiral's staff.

In 1958, he returned to Great Lakes and spent the remainder of his
four years at Fleet Home Naval Center. He was honorably discharged as
a Journalist Second Class.

He then began thirty-seven years of employment with The Waukegan
News Sun, an Illinois daily newspaper, where he held several
positions, among them managing editor for five years of the paper's
weekly sister publication, The Libertyville Independent Register.

Upon retiring in 1997, he and his wife moved to Pagosa Springs. He
enjoyed the leisure time, but missed the newspaper days. In April
2000, he joined the staff of The Pagosa Springs SUN, beginning five
of the most enjoyable years of a journalism career that spanned
forty-two years and continued until his death.

He is survived by his wife, Karen, and son, Kevin.

Preceding him in death were his mother, in 1997, and his father in
1967.

He is survived by an aunt, Minnie Johnson, of Westminster, and an
uncle, Kenneth Hotz, of Montana.

Preceding him in death were two aunts, Goldie Anderson and Muriel
Girardin, of Pagosa Springs, and four uncles, William Hotz and Robert
Hotz of Pagosa Springs, Bert Hotz of Bayfield and Thomas Hotz of
Westminster.

Among surviving cousins are Myrtle Snow and Billy Hotz of Pagosa
Springs, Franklin Anderson of Allison, Juanita Bellacosa of
Westminster and Evelyn Anton of Oregon.

Cousins preceding him in death were Johnnie Snow of Pagosa
Springs, Ramona Johnson Uptain of Westminster and James Anderson of
California.

A 1 p.m. visitation and a 2 p.m. funeral service will be held
Saturday, Dec. 10, at Community United Methodist Church, 434 Lewis
Street, Pagosa Springs, with Pastor Donald Ford officiating.

This past weekend was great. There was
definitely a lot going on in this town.

First off, we have to send a thank you to
the Music Boosters for once again giving us a wonderful holiday play
with their performance of "A Christmas Carol." The actors, the set,
the costumes were all top notch. Can't wait until the next
musical.

Then, a thank you goes out to all the
galleries that participated in the PSAC Gala Gallery Walk. There was
wonderful art, good food, some music and lots of camaraderie. The
businesses worked hard in putting their best foot forward, and I hope
the tour was successful for them in return.

Thank you to all the parents, grandparents,
children and townsfolk who participated in the lighting of the
Chamber. A very special thank you to the musical groups who braved
the winds and cold to perform for us: The Children's Chorale,
performers from "A Christmas Carol" and the Mountain Harmony Ladies
Chorus. Staying toasty inside was the Bell Choir from Community
United Methodist Church.

We didn't blow any fuses when we turned on
the lights, the winds finally died down and I think Santa got to hear
all the children's wishes. We love this time of year and hope that
families continue to bring their children down to the Chamber to see
Santa and Mrs. Claus. We have reserved them for next year, and I am
already scheming to make things even better and brighter for next
year. This town could really glow!

More to come

I saw lots of people out cutting their
Christmas trees last Sunday, and it was a beautiful clear, crisp day
to do so. I think everyone is getting into the holiday spirit and
there are still lots of happenings around town, so here are some more
dates for you to mark down on your calendar.

- Friday, Dec. 9, is the annual Parade of
Lights. Beginning at 6 p.m., walkers, trucks, cars and flatbeds will
move down San Juan and Pagosa streets starting at 6th Street and
ending at 2nd Street. Bundle up and come out to cheer the hardy
participants.

There is still time to enter the parade.
There is no entry fee and you could win $100 for the best and
brightest in the family, organization or business categories. You'll
also probably be a lot warmer if you participate in the parade
instead of standing there watching. Have your applications into the
Chamber by the end of the day Thursday, Dec. 8.

Also, remember that lots of businesses will
be staying open late to accommodate the paradegoers. What a great
time to bring the family out to do a little shopping, then watch the
parade. Many of the stores will be having specials and hot drinks to
keep you in the mood for the parade. Come on out and have a great
time in our downtown area with shopping and the Parade of
Lights.

- Starting at 4:30 p.m. December 9 and 10,
the Kiwanis Club will have their chili supper at the community
center. You can get some nourishment, go watch or participate in the
parade, then come into the center to gather with friends and warm up.

The Community Choir's Christmas Concert
starts at 7:30 p.m. at the center both days as well. The choir will
put on an afternoon performance Sunday, Dec. 11, starting at 4 p.m.
These wonderful voices never cease to enchant and cheer me. This is
another one of those "don't miss" events.

- Improving every year under the direction
of Sue Anderson, the Children's Chorale will have two performances
this year. Their first performance will be at St. Patrick's Episcopal
Church 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10. They will also perform at the
Restoration Fellowship Church 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12. These children
sounded great at the Chamber lighting even though their teeth were
chattering due to the cold and high winds. What great troupers. Go
out and support these talented youth!

- If you are going to go out shopping and
need to have some time alone, the Education Center is hosting its
holiday Retreat for Kids 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10. Children
in first to sixth grades are invited to spend the day watching movies
and creating fun crafts. Snacks will be provided, but a sack lunch
will need to accompany the child. The cost is $15. Call the Education
Center at 264-2835 with further inquiries.

- The holiday open houses continue. Touch of
the Tropics will have an open house bash 11 a.m.-6 p.m. today, Dec.
8. Give-aways, food, fun and hourly gift drawings are being offered.
There will also be a $10 raffle for a valuable spa package.

On Friday, Dec. 9, Pagosa Baking will host
an open house during the Parade of Lights. Now here's a great place
to watch the parade! I also want to give a super special thank you to
Kathy Keyes, owner of Pagosa Baking, for building a delightful
gingerbread house for the Chamber. The house is designed after our
building and is on display here at the Visitor Center. Please come by
and see this whimsical work of art made by a very talented lady. No
snacking on it though!

On Dec. 10 and 11, Victoria's Reign will
celebrate an open house. Refreshments, goodies, and 20 percent off
storewide are just some of the treats in store for the shoppers on
those days. Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Victoria's Reign is located
right next to Victoria's Parlor, so you can shop, snack or take a
break and have a delicious meal.

Once again, lots of shopping opportunities
are available to the Pagosa consumer. You can spend any Pagosa Perks
you may have received at any of these stores. If you haven't
purchased your Pagosa Perks for your friends or employees, don't
worry - the Chamber still has lots of checks available and there's
still plenty of time to issue them to you before the holiday.
Beautiful merchandise, great shopping opportunities, and your dollars
stay in Pagosa, so shop here at home first.

D'Iberville or bust

Somewhere else in this issue, there is an
article about what we are trying to accomplish on behalf of our
community to aid the citizens of D'Iberville, Miss. So, I won't
belabor this point too much.

Here are the nuts and bolts of the effort.
There is a semi truck available at Terry's Ace on the west side of
town and we will collect items at the Chamber as well. This truck and
the shipping was a joint effort by RAC Transport and Yellow Freight,
and we are so grateful for their generosity.

We will collect the following items: tools,
non-perishable food items, cleaning supplies, bedding and kitchen
items. These items will be going to our "sister city" of D'Iberville,
Miss., Monday, Dec. 12. The truck should arrive in D'Iberville
Monday, Dec. 19.

The things being collected are items
requested by the volunteer relief coordinator in D'Iberville. They
are needed to help the citizens move into trailers that have finally
arrived in the town but are "bare bones." If you have any questions
about what to donate or the drop-off points, or have other questions,
call us at the Chamber at 264-2360. This project has been in the
works for several months and it is finally coming to fruition, and
just in time for the holidays. What a wonderful gift we will give to
so many people. Please remember that your donations should be new or
in good condition. Thank you Pagosa for your generosity.

Memberships

One new member and six renewals hit the
newspaper pages this week.

Our new member is Summit Services, with
Stefanie Harville-King. This creative business offers personal,
corporate and real estate concierge and personal assistant services
to area residents, businesses and property management companies. This
is a great service, especially if you are not here full time and you
need business or home concierge services completed while you are away
or just prior to your return to Pagosa. For a more complete listing
of Summit's services, call Stefanie at 903-3288 and then keep her
number handy!

First out of the renewal box this week is
Mike Marchand and Adventure Real Estate. Our second renewal is High
Country Title, with Tracy and Karen Bunning. Third to renew is Paint
Connection Plus with Mark and Michelle Mesker, now in the throes of
their big expansion process.

All About You Day Spa and Liz Marchand renew
this week, as does Carl Nevitt with Big Sky Studio. We also welcome
back Just Gourd-Jus, and Shirley Luhnow.

Thank you again Pagosa for all the wonderful
support you have extended to the Chamber and the community. Please
call with any questions about the D'Iberville project and continue to
enjoy this wonderful holiday season. And one more thing: do that snow
dance thing, please.

Biz Beat

Taminah Custom
Framing

Thanks to its loyal customers, prospective
customers, friends and business associates of Pagosa Springs, and
because of their encouragement and the need for a professional frame
shop in Pagosa Springs, Taminah Custom Framing is back in business.

Owner Karen Cox assures customers Taminah is
offering the same exceptional and incomparable service and high
standards they came to expect in the past. "We can frame, shadowbox,
conserve and preserve most anything. We have a supply of ready-to-go
frames, and the number available grows every day. We now offer
personal picture frame design consultation in your home. Listening to
you, we brought back four of our most popular art jewelry
designers."

Framed and unframed art prints are available
again. Pat Erickson, an artist and professional framer with 25 years
experience, heads up the manufacturing department. Cox, Julie
Blanchard and Abby Linzie are design consultants. They are ready to
provide the best service in Pagosa Springs.

The new location at 2343 Eagle Drive - the
frontage road next to U.S. 160 west, at the top of Put Hill - offers
lots of parking. Taminah Custom Framing is open Tuesday-Friday 10
a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday 10-2. Call 731-4484.

If these hours don't work for you, call Cox
on her cell, (970) 946-4810, to individualize your order with
specialized customer care.

People

Weddings

Trapani-Thayer

The marriage of Gina Frances Trapani and Timothy Nichols Thayer
was solemnized on Oct. 22, 2005, at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in
Pagosa Springs, with Pastor Bill Postler officiating. The bride is
the daughter of Charles and Margaret Soniat of Pagosa Springs, and
the late Christopher Trapani of Covington, La.

The groom is the son of Gary and Nina Thayer of Los Alamos, N.M.

Following a wedding trip to Ouray, the couple will reside in
Westminster, Colo.

Sports Page

Lady Pirates bring home
championship trophy

By Randy Johnson

Staff Writer

If early results are any indication of the
prospects for the 2005-2006 season, something big could happen with
the Lady Pirate varsity basketball team.

The Pirates (2-0) came home with the Buena
Vista Tournament championship trophy last Saturday after downing the
4A Alamosa Mean Moose (1-1) in the finals by a lopsided score of
57-39.

Pagosa, led again by starters Jessica Lynch,
Liza Kelley, Kari Beth Faber, Caitlin Forrest and Emily Buikema, used
the same MO in the first quarter as in Friday's game against La Junta
to put the contest out of reach early.

The Pirates went on an 11-0 scoring run to
take an eight-point lead at the end of one, and never looked back.
The Mean Moose outscored the Pirates in the third period, but the
damage was already done.

Kelley, who started out slow in the first
half, came back in the second to share scoring honors with Buikema at
14. Forrest followed with 12 points; Faber and Lynch each had seven
while junior Kim Canty, seeing her first minutes in the tournament,
scored three. Lynch led the Pirates with six assists.

Senior Crystal Loch led the Mean Moose with
13 points. Junior Marina Lara and sophomore Katie Bussey each had
eight.

The biggest problem for the Lady Pirates was
they couldn't keep their hands to themselves. Alamosa was able to
stay in the game with free throw shooting. In the first half, 11 of
Alamosa's total 16 points came from the charity strip, after going
into double bonus early. Kelley had to sit in the second quarter
after picking up her third foul. Buikema and Forrest also committed
three each and Lynch fouled out with over five minutes left in the
fourth quarter.

Coach Bob Lynch indicated his team was
"using a pressing defense which caused most of our foul troubles, but
it is something we certainly have to deal with in practice next week.
We did cut down the number of turnovers from last night's (Friday's)
game, but that still needs work too. Overall we played pretty well
against both opponents and I am pleased with the girls'
efforts."

The Mean Moose scored first on a bucket by
Lara after controlling the opening tipoff, and it was the only time
they would lead in the game. The Pirates went on the 11-0 run with
buckets by Kelley, Buikema and Forrest. Lynch popped a trey to put
the score 13-5 at the end of one. Three of the five Alamosa points in
the quarter were on free throws.

The second quarter was more of the same, as
the Pirates outscored the Mean Moose 22-11 to go 35-16 at
intermission. Buikema, Forrest, Lynch and Faber took up the slack as
Kelley sat with three fouls and four points.

In the third quarter it appeared Alamosa
might come back when Lara hit a three-pointer and the Pirates went
cold. The Mean Moose then went on a seven-point scoring run to
decrease the Pirates' lead to 42-28 at quarter's end.

Pagosa came back in the fourth on two quick
buckets by Kelley. Lynch committed her fifth foul and the rest of the
Pirates responded to outscore Alamosa 15-11 to close out the
contest.

The Pirates will need to go to work early as
they face three quality opponents in this week's Wolf Creek
Classic.

The Lady Pirates open the home season
tomorrow night when they host the classic. The weekend event is a
round-robin affair for the girls' teams. The other three schools in
the classic are the 3A Gunnison Cowgirls, the 4A Montezuma-Cortez
Lady Panthers and the New Mexico 4A Aztec Lady Tigers.

Pagosa opens with Gunnison tomorrow night at
6:30 p.m. They face two opponents Saturday. The first will be with
Montezuma-Cortez at 11:45 a.m. followed at 6:45 p.m. against Aztec.
All three games will be fun to watch and all three opponents have
brought very good teams to the tournament in the past.

Montezuma-Cortez will open the round-robin
against Aztec Friday at 3 p.m. The first game Saturday will pit
Gunnison against Aztec at 8:15 a.m. Gunnison will then face
Montezuma-Cortez at 3:15 p.m.

The opening basketball game of the 2005-2006
campaign for the Pagosa Springs High School varsity Lady Pirates
could not have been better.

Playing in the first round of the 2005 Buena
Vista Tournament, the Pirates (1-0) outclassed the La Junta Tigers
(0-1) with an impressive 51-27 win. Coach Bob Lynch said earlier that
his team had experience and depth and it showed last Friday night
from the opening tipoff. Pagosa came out fast in the first quarter on
a scoring run of 13-5 to put the game out of reach early.

The starting five of Jessica Lynch, Liza
Kelley, Kari Beth Faber, Emily Buikema and Caitlin Forrest dominated
both ends of the floor, using a stingy defense and their fast break
offense. Kelley led all scorers with a game high 16 points. Buikema
followed with 11, Lynch with eight, and Forrest put seven in the
books. Lynch led the field with five assists. Chelsea Rodriguez led
the Tigers with seven points.

Lynch was pleased with the effort but said
"we had some trouble with our passing, some dumb fouls and too many
turnovers. But we'll take an opening win like this one." Pagosa
committed 20 turnovers on the night.

The first quarter opened slow as it seemed
there was a lid on both buckets but the Pirates maintained and built
a 6-1 lead with just over four minutes left with their tight
man-to-man defense. Faber and Kelley started to warm up and built a
13-5 lead at the buzzer.

The second quarter opened on a Kelley fast
break and the Pirates built another 10-point margin. The Tigers came
back on a five-point run but Pagosa would not let them get within
seven and the quarter ended at 25-14 for the Lady Pirates.

The third quarter saw more action as the
points scored were almost doubled over the entire first half. This
time, Forrest and Buikema came to play with their rebounds and
putbacks. The Pirates extended their lead to 14 with 2:49 showing on
the clock. The quarter ended on a Forrest score and the Pagosa lead
went to 41-25.

Both teams traded baskets to open the final
period. With almost five minutes left in the contest, Coach Lynch
switched to a trapping 1-3-1 zone defense and held the Tigers
scoreless for the rest of the game.

In the boy's championship game of the 2005
Buena Vista basketball tournament against the host Demons, it
appeared early that the opponents' distinctive height advantage might
be an issue for the PSHS varsity Pirates. After all, the entire Buena
Vista roster included only one player under 6 feet and big 6-9 Nate
Solder at the post.

In the end, height was not the issue but the
hard fighting Pirates (1-1) came up short anyway to the Demons (2-0)
by a score of 59-55.

Pagosa came out as cold as the weather
outside to open the game and let Buena Vista build an 18-7 lead on
two treys by senior Matt Wolford. The Pirates' Paul Przybylski
answered with his own three at quarter's end, but Pagosa had to play
catch-up the rest of the night.

The Pirates would come back strong by
outscoring the Demons in all three remaining quarters but the
11-point margin was too much to overcome. Pagosa did come within two
on several occasions, but the Demons would respond, given their early
momentum.

Wolford led the Demons with 21 points on the
strength of four treys. Solder was held to just 10 points, followed
by Jon Woolmington with nine.

For the Pirates, 6-3 Craig Schutz matched
Wolford's output at 21. This was a great effort, given he was matched
against Solder. Casey Schutz added 12, while Jordan Shaffer and
Przybylski each pumped in eight. Derek Harper followed with five
points. Przybylski led Pagosa with six assists.

Coach Jim Shaffer pointed out that "our kids
fought hard against a very good basketball team. We dug ourselves a
hole early and we came back strong. I'm proud of the way we played
and handled the early deficit."

Shaffer went on to say "We need to get
better offensively and learn to spread the floor without a big guy in
the middle. We also gave up to many easy buckets on
transition."

The Demons opened fast by controlling the
opening tipoff. Woolmington scored a three the old-fashioned way on a
bucket and a free throw. The Pirates stayed close until halfway
through the quarter, when Solder scored three. Buena Vista went on an
8-0 run on the strength of two Wolford treys and the Demons were up
by 11 after one.

The Pirates came back quickly on treys by
Casey Schutz and Shaffer. Pagosa would come within two, 24-22, but
Buena Vista answered on another three by Wolford to lead at
intermission, 33-25.

The Demons opened the third quarter with a
7-0 run. The Pirates finally got going again on a trey by Harper.
Shaffer's three and points by Casey and Craig Schutz narrowed the
margin to four. Wolford was left open again and hit his fourth trey
to end the quarter with Buena Vista up by five.

The teams traded baskets to open the final
stanza. Casey Schutz hit a three and the score went to 51-47 for the
Demons with 5:31 showing on the clock. With 1:02 remaining, the
margin was one but Wolford scored and was fouled.

Craig Schutz banged a three with 23 seconds
showing to bring the Pirates within two but then they had to foul to
get the ball back. The game ended on the four-point
difference.

The experience continues with a three game
Wolf Creek Classic hosted by the Pirates this weekend.

The Pirates will need to practice hard and
focus on the home openers.

The Wolf Creek Classic begins tomorrow night
at the PSHS gym. The Pirates host the Gunnison Cowboys in the first
round. Tipoff will immediately follow the Lady Pirates' contest, and
is tentatively scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Other participants in the
boy's bracket include the New Mexico 4A Aztec Tigers and the 4A
Battle Mountain Huskies.

The Tigers and Huskies will square off at
4:45 p.m. tomorrow. Winners of the first-round games will play for
the tourney championship at 8:30 p.m. Saturday; first-round losers
meet at 5.

A third "cross-over" game is scheduled for
each team Saturday. The cross-over game is required to meet some
Colorado High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) guidelines. These
games will pit the winner of the Battle Mountain/Aztec contest
against the loser of the Pirates/Cowboys' game at 10 a.m. The loser
of the Battle Mountain/Aztec game will play the winner of the
Pagosa/Gunnison game at 1:30 p.m. The cross-over game does not impact
the tournament bracket but gives a third game to all participants
against an opponent they will not meet in the bracket.

This will be a full and fun weekend of
hoops. The tournament will see four games Friday, with action
starting at 3 p.m. and continuing through the Pirates' game. On
Saturday, there will be a total of eight games played, starting at
8:15 a.m. and continuing through the boys' final that night.

A winter storm was supposed to hit the
Arkansas valley last Friday night and blanket Buena Vista. Leadville
had received over a foot and a half of the white stuff earlier in the
day.

The storm did show up, but only in the Buena
Vista gym.

Coach Jim Shaffer's 2005-2006 varsity
basketball Pirates buried the La Junta Tigers in a veritable
avalanche in the opening round of the 2005 Buena Vista Tournament,
winning the game 85-19. The Pirates (1-0) outsized, outclassed and
outplayed the Tigers (0-1) in a game that was not much better than a
practice session or scrimmage.

Coach Shaffer opened the season with the
starting five of 5-10 junior Kerry Joe Hilsabeck and 5-11 senior Paul
Przybylski at guards, 5-11 junior Jordan Shaffer and 6-2 senior Casey
Schutz at forwards and 6-3 senior Craig Schutz at the post.

This new starting five dominated from the
opening tipoff with a 21-2 run in the first quarter. Casey Schutz hit
a jumper to put the score at 2-0 and it was all downhill from there
for the Tigers. La Junta could muster only six points in the entire
first half.

The contest wound up being a Schutz
brothers' show as both had nearly identical numbers. Casey had the
game high with 22 points followed by Craig with 21. Caleb Ormonde, a
6-5 junior coming off the bench, followed with eight points.
Hilsabeck led with eight assists while Shaffer and Przybylski had six
and five, respectively. Ricky Nelson led the visitors with eight
points.

Pagosa controlled the opening tipoff and the
scoring machine went into gear. Casey Schutz hit a three with just
under four minutes remaining and Pagosa never looked back. Additional
buckets by Craig Schutz and Ormonde ended the quarter with the
Pirates ahead 21-2.

Pagosa continued the barrage in the second
quarter. Przybylski's three pointer with just over five minutes
remaining built a 29-point lead. La Junta scored its second bucket at
the 5:40 mark. A 21-4 run put the Pirates up 51-6 at the
intermission.

In the third quarter Coach Shaffer changed
from the pressing man-to-man defense to a 1-3-1 zone to give his
charges experience with the D. The Tigers scored five and must have
made the Pirates mad as they went on another 14-0 scoring run to end
the quarter at 73-13.

Coach Shaffer cleared the bench in the
fourth quarter to give the younger players some game experience.
Coming in to finish the game were 6-0 junior Adam Trujillo, 5-9
junior Travis Richey, 6-2 junior Casey Hart and 6-3 junior James
Martinez. Hart hit six points and Martinez four in the final eight
minutes to end the game.

Pirate wrestlers got their first taste of
action Saturday at the Rocky Ford Duals and came home with a
fourth-place finish - one of the better finishes in recent
memory.

The team went 2-2 at a meet won by the host
Meloneers. While other Pirate teams have posted the same tourney
record, this year's team posted its wins in preliminary action,
advancing to the championship pool of the tourney.

The wins came against Florence (54-23) and
Las Animas (72-6).

The Pirates competed with a team marked by
big differences in age and experience, with several tested seniors in
the lineup, joined there by some underclassmen entering the first
varsity action of their high school careers.

Pagosa got a victory against Florence from
Josh Nelson, who scored with a pin in the third period at 119 pounds,
Senior Ky Smith began what would be an impressive tournament outing
at 145, with a 21-4 technical fall. Senior Matt Nobles opened his
season with a third-period pin at 160. Joe Romine also started on a
positive note at 275, with a pin in the first period. The remainder
of the Pirates' points came on forfeits by the Huskies.

Las Animas got six points from the Pirates
on the basis of a forfeit at 140 pounds. The rest of the way, the
dual turned into a first-period pin spree by Pagosa.

Travis Moore scored with a first-period pin
at 112. Nelson did the same at 119. Joe DuCharme got a pin in the
first at 130, as did Mike Smith at 135.

Smith continued the trend at 145. Justin
Moore took an 11-6 decision at 152 and Nobles earned a 20-7 major
decision at 160. Newcomer Eric Hurd pinned his opponent in the second
period at 171. Reynaldo Palmer scored a first-period pin at
189.

Bubba Martinez saw his first action of
2005-2006 at 215 and easily crafted a 16-0 technical fall. Romine
rounded out the scoring with a first-period pin at 275.

Competition in the championship round was
considerably sharper than in the opening session.

In the semifinal, the Pirates faced the host
Meloneers and, according to Coach Dan Janowsky, "they (Rocky Ford)
drilled us. They cradled the living daylights out of us and we
weren't ready. We've covered a lot of things early in the year, but
that's not one of them. We don't see a lot of that (cradling) in our
league, so we wait to deal with it. We'll get to it, though."

The Pirates dropped out of championship
contention with a 59-15 loss to the Meloneers. Pagosa's points came
from Smith, with a pin in the second period at 145, an 8-1 decision
by veteran Orion Sandoval at 125, and a forfeit at 215.

La Junta defeated the Pirates 46-30 to take
the dual for third place.

Smith again showed strong, with a
first-period pin at 145.

Nobles earned points at 160 with a 9-5
decision. Martinez got a crack at the Tigers' man at 215 and made
short work of him, pinning him in the first period.

Steven Smith got his first varsity win at
103, fashioning a 14-9 decision.

The verdict, following the first four
matches of the new season?

"We're an above average team," said the
coach. "We have a way to go to challenge the really good teams, but
its not an impossibility. We can wrestle better."

A bright spot for the team as whole,
according to Janowsky, showed in terms of conditioning. It sustained
many Pirates through the initial flurries in their matches, giving
them a chance to stay in the running.

"Our conditioning was noticeable," said the
coach. "In the championship round, Rocky Ford and La Junta were more
physical than us, and we had to exert ourselves early in many of the
matches to fight them off. When we did, we won the second half of the
match. Sometimes it was enough to win the entire match, sometimes
not. We need to teach our kids to be physical right off the bat; they
need to learn to keep matches close in the early going."

In practices so far this year, Janowsky and
his staff have worked the wrestlers on techniques on the mat, with
less time spent on battling while on the feet. That will change.
"Overall," said Janowsky, "we've been working to build a solid
foundation. We used this meet to fortify what we've worked on and to
strengthen our top work. We got out-hand fought at times and we need
to work on that now."

In terms of individual performances,
Janowsky singled out Smith and Martinez. "I thought we got
outstanding performances out of Ky and Bubba," he said. "They were
unbeaten and unchallenged. Matt Nobles was 3-1 and did well, and Joe
Romine wrestled well all day. Orion (Sandoval) was 2-2 and fought
hard. Among our young guys, Steven Smith and Joe DuCharme wrestled
well and had progressed noticeably by the end of the day. DuCharme
fought good fights against two very tough guys at the end of the day.
This tournament was a good first go for us."

The next go is Saturday, at the Buena Vista
Duals, with the Pirates returning to the tournament as part of a
yearly tradition. Included with the Pirates and host Demons will be
Centauri, Florence, Middle Park, Del Norte, St. Mary's, Glenwood
Springs, Salida and Lake City. First-round matches begin at 9 a.m.
Finals are scheduled for 5 p.m.

Pirate cheerleaders finish
fifth in State Spirit event

By Kate Collins

Staff Writer

The Pagosa Springs Pirates cheerleaders took
fifth place in State Spirit competition on Saturday, Dec. 3.
Twenty-one high schools were represented by their cheerleading squads
at the event.

"The girls did awesome," said Head Coach
Renee Davis. "They missed going to the finals by one point." Pagosa
scored 88.17 points in the preliminary round. Four teams advanced to
the finals.

The Pirate squad drew the first spot in
competition order. "We had to go first, and judging is more
conservative at the start," stated Davis. "They really did their
best," she said of her team. "They are a good group of girls. I'm so
proud of them - they did such a great job."

Davis was amazed at how many other coaches
approached her with compliments of the group. "They'd come up to me
and say, 'I can't believe how good they are!'

"We'll do things a bit differently next
year," explained Davis. "We'll try to get to one competition before
state. Then we can see what the style is for the year, and give
ourselves a little exposure.

"I told the girls, 'You need to focus on the
journey that gets you there - not the end result,'" said Davis. "All
in all, we had a great trip."

The cheerleaders will perform their state
routine at halftime of the Saturday evening boys' basketball game at
the Wolf Creek Classic tournament.

Pagosa Springs
Recreation

Officials should serve as role
models

By Myles Gabel

SUN Columnist

Over the years as an athlete, collegiate
coach and recreation director, I have come in contact with many
referees, umpires and officials who have made an impact on me and the
players on the field or in the gymnasium.

These officials take the time to show their
love for the game by helping all players and coaches on the field
share that love for the game with them. Enjoying what you do is
important in all areas of life. For an official, having fun and
enjoying the experience makes the game better for all involved -
supervisors, players, coaches and spectators.

Good officials treat each game like it's the
best assignment they have ever had. Players like having officials who
enjoy what they do, and players normally respond positively when they
see an official enjoying the way the players are playing the game.
The game is for the players and having an official treat the game and
the players with that kind of respect usually makes for a better
experience for all involved.

Did you ever hear the saying, "Some people
bring happiness wherever they go and some people bring happiness
whenever they go,"? Good officials strive to be the first person in
this quotation, not the last. Making the game fair for everyone
involved is an important part of making the game fun. Remember:
Sports plus children should equal fun, and a good official can help
everyone enjoy the game and learn some valuable life lessons in the
process.

Role models come in all shapes and sizes. As
an "authority figure" on the field, referees of all ages are role
models for players, coaches, spectators and other referees, so good
officials strive to set the example of professional behavior.
Providing an atmosphere that is safe for the players, fair to all
participants and fun for everyone is a good place to start when
striving to be a role model for children. Good officials are
courteous and treat everyone with the same courteous manner. This
isn't always easy, especially when the people on the sidelines are
going crazy and yelling at you.

Another quality that good officials serving
as role models share is character. Character is easily defined as
doing the right thing even when no one is watching. As an official,
you have a great deal of influence over how the game is played and
how enjoyable it is.

Officials serving as role models also
possess a great attitude. Attitude is just about the only thing one
can control. You can't control the weather, the kind of field you are
playing on, the skill level of the players, who the coaches are and
what kind of people are on the sidelines. But the one thing good
officials can control is their attitude, and that will determine how
they handle all of those things they cannot control.

Finally it is respect, caring for others and
passion for the game that shows everyone an official is in the game
for all the right reasons. The official who shows respect for others
will get their respect back in the long term. An official who cares
for others is recognized as such by everyone present at an athletic
contest. Passion for the game is the fire that burns within, and an
official who has this will never tire of giving service to the game
and the players.

Last week we lost an official and friend in
Chris Young. Chris embodied all of the positive traits described
above that we continually strive to find in our officials and in our
friends. His amazing respect, care for our young athletes and passion
for the game came through each and every time he stepped on the
field. Chris Young's great attitude, character and professionalism
made him a true role model for the youth of Pagosa Springs
participating in our programs. His presence will be truly
missed.

Hoop Shoot

The Elk's Club Annual Hoop Shoot was held
Saturday, Dec. 3, with over 30 participants in six categories. Fun
and great competition was had by all, with the following athletes and
alternates moving on to regional competition in Durango Saturday,
Jan. 7.

A big "thank you" goes out to LPEA and Mike
Alley for arranging to have the bulbs on the Christmas Star on
Reservoir Hill replaced and lit. Historically, the Town of Pagosa
Springs would get the bulbs from a local sorority chapter, then staff
members would climb up the star and cross, changing the bulbs.

The two structures are no longer safe to
climb, so with the new sponsorship of the upkeep and the replacements
of bulbs taken over by Rotary, we were able to call Mike and LPEA
workers to change the bulbs prior to Christmas in Pagosa. It was a
beautiful site to see the town all lit up and festive.

The parks crew spent a good portion of the
last week lighting the corner of U.S. 160 and Hot Springs Boulevard,
as well as setting up the nativity scene in the Town Park. We have
received calls from former sorority members thanking us for keeping
up the tradition started by these energetic women of our
community.

Soccer photos

If you bought and paid for extra photographs
of your children playing in our youth soccer league this past fall,
your pictures are still available at Pagosa Photography, 480 San Juan
St. in downtown Pagosa Springs. You can call 264-3686 to speak with
Jeff Laydon about delivery of your photos.

Referees/scorekeepers

If you have a background in basketball as a
player or coach, we need you. The Pagosa Springs Recreation
Department is hiring referees and scorekeepers for the 2005/2006
youth basketball season. High school students and adults are welcome,
and training is provided. Pay depends on experience, certification
and the level of the games you officiate/scorekeep. Contact the
recreation department at 264-4151, Ext. 232, if interested. Sign up
now.

Sports hotline

Information concerning the Pagosa Springs
Recreation Department may be found by calling the Pagosa Springs
Sports Hotline at 264-6658 or logging on to townofpagosasprings.com
and going to the Parks and Recreation link. All schedules and
upcoming events are updated every Monday morning.

Our colleague and dear friend Richard Walter passed away last week
at age 69 here in Pagosa Springs, the town he loved, the town in
which he lived and grew as a young man. The town he captured, in
print, over the last five years.

Richard was the consummate newspaperman and journalist, in love
with the business, dedicated to excellence in his craft, proud of the
newspapers he helped produce. He came by it early - as a kid editing
his school paper. A graduate of the U.S. Navy's Journalism School, he
left the service for work in the news business in Illinois. He never
stopped honing his skills through 42 years in the profession, and
those skills were enormous.

In Illinois, Richard worked for the Waukegan News Sun, serving
eventually as the managing editor of a sister newspaper, the
Libertyville Independent Register, sitting behind the old
horseshoe-shaped editor's desk, sheets of copy flying like flakes in
a wind-driven blizzard. He could, and did handle it with aplomb.

He retired and came back to Pagosa Springs where he had lived from
1945 to 1953 before he went on to the University of Denver, then to
the navy. He came back from Illinois to live in his late mother's
house on Hermosa Street.

That's when we first noticed him: The Mystery Walker. He walked
incessantly, was seen everywhere, striding along in his distinctive
way, elbows up and out, wearing a pair of huge sunglasses and giant
headphones.

We should have known: He was a newsman.

Richard couldn't stay away from the business and, in 2000, he
became a staff writer at The SUN and, soon after, a columnist and our
copy editor. He was incredibly productive, obsessed with his work, a
mentor to young writers, an inspiration to all, pursuing his tasks
with extraordinary energy. His discipline, his dedication, were
unmatched. His work, invariably fine.

And there was another side to him that complemented his work ethic
and intensity.

He loved Pagosa Springs and the people of the community. When the
tone of newsroom talk grew dark, his was the optimistic voice. It was
Richard who lavished praise, who told the stories about the old days
and who held out the greatest hope for the future.

That hope showed in his love of Pagosa's youngsters. He covered
all the activities at the schools. He wrote stories, took photos,
traveled across the state to cover soccer games, basketball,
baseball. The sight of Richard, notebook in one hand, camera in the
other, running down the sideline at a soccer game, or at the end line
of the basketball court, or walking on to the stage at a concert, is
etched in our minds.

In a business in which practitioners often fall prey to cynicism
and sarcasm, Richard was infected with neither. After all, he was
home. He was a good man, in fellowship with people he loved and whose
lives and accomplishments he chronicled. Cynicism had no place with
him.

His columns melded his experiences into beautifully-expressed
opinions. He brought history and current issues into play, mixing
sentiment with criticism always aimed at bettering his beloved
hometown. His Pacing Pagosa was read and enjoyed by many.

Fittingly, we were notified Monday that Richard won one of this
year's awards for serious column writing from the Colorado Press
Association. We hope he is watching and enjoying the moment, sitting
behind a grand horseshoe desk, munching on a ham and cheese and
peanut butter sandwich, tearing the living daylights out of poorly
written copy, getting ready for a long walk on a perpetually sunny
day.

He's met his last deadline here, and will be greatly missed.

That's 30.

Karl Isberg

Pacing
Pagosa

Youth's trails become memories

By Richard Walter

SUN Columnist

Sometimes our paths through life are smooth
and easy, the distant horizons beckoning us along trails of
ease.

At other times the route is arduous, filled
with the thorns and briars of life's hardships nipping at us and
sometimes causing detours we hadn't planned.

So it is, too, with the paths of Pagosa
Country. Trails of the exuberant youth are no more, hidden memories
among the varied roadways leading to ever more housing development
and population.

Where once a slender trail led up a
mountainside, across a fallen log traversing a stream to a sparkling
pool filled with trout, there is now a roadway carrying any and all
to the site without effort. But most of the fish are gone; in their
place the trash of modern man - the empty beer cans, discarded food
wrappers, ground (or burned) out cigarette butts, spent ammunition -
the offal of uncaring, uneducated visitors looking for the memories
we worked so hard to collect.

Walking, bicycling, running through the
woods were once youthful leisuretime ways of learning about nature,
of seeing what the land is all about, finding signs of early
passersby who marked their paths but did not destroy.

Most of those childhood memories are now
only memories, physically erased by the progress of
settlement.

Gone are the meandering streams of the Upper
Piedra Valley, the lifelines of the farmers and the playground of the
widely diverse population of the time. They are gone forever beneath
the waters of Williams Creek Reservoir. Gone, too, the streams which
were teeming with native fish and dammed to create the Vallecito at
the beginning of World War II.

Open lands, public lands, free range trails
still exist, but are dwindling. Even at the higher elevations, trails
have been widened, made easier, and littered with the throwaways of
modern outdoor enthusiasts.

As population grows and development spreads,
the old trapping holes where winter furs were taken to supplement
family income have disappeared.

Where once we strode confidently through
fields of columbine, aster and wild coneflower the paths have been
beaten down, the flowers forced ever higher to survive and then
eliminated because they can't survive at that altitude.

In the eye of a child, they say, beauty is a
boundless thing. In the eyes of a no-longer child, in fact an aging
native, the beauty is less and farther away, tinged when found by the
thoughtless degradation of the new hordes.

Still, Pagosa Country is in the soul.
Driving, caressing, luring us to sample the delights, no matter how
spoiled they have become; if only to rekindle the memories of more
than half a century ago:

Face to face with a mountain lion ranging
its territory; landing the "biggest trout you ever saw" from the San
Juan River; sledding down slopes "in town" without fear of death in
an endless stream of traffic; swinging from a rope tied to a tree
over Cotton Hole and dropping into the cold water.

The path, like youth, lost in life's dreams.

Legacies

90 years ago

Taken from SUN files of December 10,
1915

In response to a call made by County Superintendent John Q.
Vermillion, 45 teachers and directors met in the high school building
on Saturday. This was a new venture in the interest of the
educational work of the county. The large attendance shows the
interest taken in the rural districts of the county, every school
district being represented but two, some delegates coming 45 miles to
be in attendance. Other persons who were neither teacher nor director
came 30 miles to see if some plan could not be devised to provide
their community with a school. It was unanimously decided to adopt
uniform textbooks for the county and urgently requesting teachers and
school boards that when a change in books was to be made, to buy the
books selected by the committee.

75 years ago

Taken from SUN files of December 12,
1930

We are having an unusual warm spell of weather and doors of homes
are open all day. We appreciate the change.

Parties needing furniture should see or phone Mrs. Myra Day at
once as she is offering all of her household goods for sale at
bargain prices.

Ben Talamante of Edith was brot to Pagosa last week for medical
and surgical treatment, having sustained a broken leg when thrown
against a fence by an unruly horse.

Call and see the bulbs pushing green noses above the brown earth.
I have a variety of kinds, in post, now ready. Buy early and watch
them grown and unfold into beautiful blooms. Svante Wiwel, Florist.

50 years ago

Taken from SUN files of December 8,
1955

The new Pomolift Ski Tow at Wolf Creek Pass Ski Area will be open
for use Saturday, Dec. 10, and will operate every Saturday and Sunday
until May with the exception of Christmas Day and from Dec. 26 to
Jan. 1. Snow conditions are ideal. There is 3' of new powder snow on
top of a 4' snow base. There is a small warming hut at the base of
the tow and there will be a snack bar operated in the hut for hot
lunches.

This snow storm, as last, the town streets were not plowed out and
for the past few days it has been a little rough getting around after
you get off the highway. The state snowplow crews cleaned up Main
Street in good order after the storm was all over. It could have been
done earlier except for the cars parked all night on the street.

25 years ago

Taken from SUN files of December 11,
1980

The Board of County Commissioners of Archuleta County has filed an
official protest to the final census tally for the county. The
preliminary count by the Census Bureau is about 25% under the
estimated population, according to the protest.

The Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a free movie and free candy
for the children of the community December 20 in the Mesa Theatre.
Santa Claus will be present.

Skiing at Wolf Creek Ski Area is excellent these days, with 15
inches of new snow last weekend. Crowds have not been large and snow
conditions are very good. The area has a 35 inch base and is just
about the only area in Colorado operating on natural snow.

Features

The "sport of kings" holds a
spot in her heart

By Kate Collins

Staff Writer

Sallie Dinning's eyes twinkle as she recalls the many adventures
she's lived alongside her horses.

The walls of her room are covered with glamorous modeling
photographs and paintings of her horses, with riding regalia. The
wallpaper between is made of memories.

Dinning, 73, suffers from Alzheimer's disease and is a resident of
the Pine Ridge Extended Care facility, but when speaking of her
horses, Dinning recalls the past as though describing her reflection
in a mirror.

"She was so extremely brave and beautiful and athletic," said Cas
Heuer of his mother. "It is remarkable what she was able to do."

Dinning devoted her heart to horses at a very early age. She began
riding as a small child and had an uncanny connection with the
animals. At the age of 18, Dinning became one of the youngest
licensed horse trainers in the country, as well as one of the few
women to be licensed.

While she was attending college, Dinning was approached by a horse
trainer representing Paul Mellon, whose family's art collection is
the basis for the National Art Gallery. "Word was out that she was so
good at working with horses - horse whisperer, if you will," said
Heuer.

"It was rare that I ever hit a horse," explained Dinning. Mellon
had a skittish horse that his trainers couldn't manage, and asked
Dinning to have a try. She met the horse and met with success in
calming the enormous race animal.

"Horses are just like children - sometimes they don't want to
learn," said Dinning.

"There are two sides to my mother," said Heuer. "She has an
important balance of tough and gentle Š discipline and control.
Horses love to be ridden and they love to run."

Her love of horses and her riding skills led Dinning to flat track
racing, such as seen in the movie "Seabiscuit." Dinning soon sought
more adventure.

"I got tired of flat racing," said Dinning. "I wanted to get more
jazzy."

Dinning found that jazz in 1949 in the form of steeple chase
riding - racing horses over uneven terrain and jumping the animals
over large horizontal timbers.

After divorcing her first husband, Dinning became a designer and
model of ladies evening wear in New York. Her company, Daingerfield
Inc., was carried by Woodward and Lathrop, "the original Macy's,"
said Heuer. She met with great success and enjoyed her time in the
city and the fashion world.

Dinning was married three times over the course of her lifetime,
and felt a constant tug in two directions: one to her domestic duties
and the other to her devotion to horses.

"My mom always did her very professional, businesslike, ladylike
thing," explained Heuer. "She was constantly ping-ponging between
marriage duties and her love of horses."

In 1965, Dinning married her third husband whose name she carries
to this day. Together, they purchased a farm to breed thoroughbred
horses and found better than moderate success in their investment.

"They probably had over a hundred winners of stakes races," stated
Heuer. "They never quite got to the level of the Kentucky Derby or
the Preakness Stakes, but they did really well and were really
well-known."

Horse racing is dubbed the "sport of kings," but along the east
coast in the mid-20th century, many middle class people enjoyed the
sport. Dinning became a very established owner and breeder.

"Even at the supermarket, people would ask me about my mom. They
knew about her because they'd bet on her horses," recalled Heuer.

In the early 1970s, Dinning registered her first fox hound pack
and lead many hunts upon her favorite horse, Amastaso. The horse was
a large thoroughbred that never experienced fame on the flat track.
Dinning trained him to be a jumper and she became the "huntsman."
Dinning also raised the hunt dogs on her farm, usually caring for 25
adult dogs and 25 puppies at once.

Dinning led the hunts in full riding regalia, including a sleek
top hat and horn. She was also trained to ride sidesaddle, a feat
requiring much strength and agility. "It's very fancy and elegant
looking, but sidesaddle is very difficult riding over pastures and
through woods," explained Heuer. "She even jumped sidesaddle."

Dinning managed the details of running such a large farm with
finesse and savvy. "I insisted that we had splendid workers - they
were fantastic," remembered Dinning.

"She empowered a lot of people," said Heuer. "Years later, people
would approach me and thank me for what my mother had done for them.
She was a role model for so many of the girls - really all the
workers - being trained on the farm. She has an indomitable spirit."

In 1992, Dinning sold her farm and moved to Washington D.C., where
she sat on the board of directors of the Washington International
Horse Show, where riders and horses compete in an indoor ring,
jumping over man-made obstacles such as poles and brick barriers. As
a director, Dinning traveled all over North America to the
competitive events.

"When she couldn't ride anymore, she supported those who did,"
explained Heuer. Dinning's body underwent much abuse throughout her
years of riding. She has had three hip replacements, both knees
replaced and has had complete facial reconstructive surgery after a
horse reared up and his hoof landed directly on her face, crushing
all the bones. "The surgeon asked for a photo of my mother so that he
could rebuild her face. He couldn't even tell what she was supposed
to look like."

Dinning stopped riding altogether in 1998 due to complications
with arthritis. "You don't have to ride to make it exciting. I've had
an excellent life - I've been really fortunate," said Dinning with a
smile reflecting her life-long love of horses.

County planning office to move

The Archuleta County Building and Planning office is relocating
its offices from 527A San Juan St., to 42 Eaton Drive, to the site of
the old Wells Fargo Bank building located behind the Pagosa Country
Center City Market on the west side of town.

The move will take place Dec. 15-16. The office will be closed
those two days and possibly Dec. 19. The new office will open
Tuesday, Dec. 20.

Dems welcome state chair

The Archuleta County Democratic Party is inviting its members to a
special meeting with Pat Waak, chairperson of the Colorado Democratic
Party, 4 to 6 p.m Friday, Dec. 9, at 164 Blanca Place in Pagosa
Springs. Waak is a tireless worker on behalf of the Democratic Party
and will address upcoming local and statewide issues of special
interest to Democratic voters.

For information call John Egan at 264-5455 or 749-6156.

Nursing group seeks nominees

The Colorado Nurses Foundation, sponsor of the Nightingale Event,
and the Western Colorado Area Health Education Center invite
nominations of candidates for the 21st annual Nightingale Awards. The
prestigious awards will be presented Saturday, May 6, at a banquet in
Denver.

Registered nurses throughout Colorado are nominated by
solicitation from the five Colorado Area Health Education Centers
(AHEC) in the state and Colorado Springs. Fifteen finalists will be
selected by the six regions and forwarded to the Statewide Selection
Committee, who determines the recipients.

- Nominees must be a registered nurse (RN) currently practicing in
Colorado or retired from practice in Colorado.

- Nominee may have been previously nominated and/or a finalist but
may not be a recipient.

Western Slope nominees will be honored at the regional banquet
which will be held Saturday, March 18, at the Two Rivers Convention
Center in Grand Junction.

Nomination forms are available at the Western Colorado Area Health
Education Centers (WCAHEC) or online at www.wcahec.org. All
nominations must be postmarked by Friday, Jan. 6, 2006.

Pagosa's
Past

Action moves west as Fort Lewis
in Pagosa is abandoned

By John M. Motter

PREVIEW Columnist

The year is late 1880.

The place? Pagosa Country and the San Juan Basin.

What's going on? Anglo settlers are moving in, looking for a home.
At the same time, anxious, angry Utes - hoping that, through a series
of treaties with the whites, they have successfully retained a small
portion of what was once their home - are asking themselves "will it
happen again? Are they going to settle on the little we still have?"

The Army hoped to prevent a bloodbath by building Fort Lewis in
Pagosa Springs in 1878, then building another in Hesperus in 1880.
The older Utes followed Ouray's advice and walked softly. But, like
young men everywhere when they are squeezed, young Ute men were
sullen, resentful, and almost convinced it would be better to die
honorably than survive by surrendering. And so, in the San Juan
Basin, confrontations occurred.

The Basin was still relatively remote. Huge, unfenced cattle
ranches spread from the Continental Divide westward into the Blue
Mountains of southeastern Utah, three of the larger spreads
headquartered near Monticello, Utah. Confrontations between cowboys
and Indians were inevitable. In "Pioneers of the San Juan Country,"
we read two stories in which a young cowboy named R.P. Hott rode
helter-skelter to get aid for his beleaguered comrades, surrounded by
militant Utes. Hott was the grandfather of R.D. Hott, still a rancher
in Pagosa Springs.

It is true, a bloodbath was avoided. But the powder keg could have
exploded anytime, given the desperation of the young Utes and the
itchy fingered restlessness of the young cowboys. The Blue Mountains
of Utah, along with the Paradox Valley, had a reputation as the last
place a man with a past could hang out with no questions asked.

By 1880, a vast majority of the Southern Utes were moving on to
the reservation they still occupy. The Moache and Weeminuche bands
settled in Ignacio. The Weeminuche settled further west, around
Sleeping Ute Mountain south of Cortez. Then, there were more, small
band of Utes who settled even further west in Utah in the badlands
between Cortez and Monticello. It happens that a lot of cattle were
being grazed in the same area. For whatever reason, the U.S.
government allowed a few of these Utes to remain off of the
designated reservation. Their descendants are still there today. And,
as late as the 1920s, incidents between white and Ute occurred, no
bloodbaths mind you, but scary enough if you discovered yourself the
center of attention for a group of rifle barrels.

And so, beginning in 1880, the Army built a substantial fort at
Hesperus, halfway between the Ignacio Utes and the Ute Mountain Utes.

One company of infantry remained at Fort Lewis in Pagosa Springs
under command of a Capt. Torres. In a letter to the Adjutant General,
U.S. Army dated Dec. 16, 1880, and sent from Headquarters Cantonment,
Rio de la Plata, Col. "Sir, I have the honor to acknowledge receipt
of your communication of 18 ultimo, asking that returns for Fort
Lewis, Pagosa Springs, for the months of August, September, and
October, 1880, be forwarded. In reply, I beg to state that the troops
constituting the regular garrison of that post, have all been on
detached service for several months, and returns for the month of
September and the succeeding have not as yet been received from
Companies D '9th' Cavalry and 'B' 15th Infantry. As soon as the
necessary data can be obtained, returns will be made out and
forwarded.

"Fort Lewis, Pagosa Springs, is virtually abandoned, and is now a
Substation under the commanding officer of this post. There is one
company there, temporarily on detached service from this garrison. As
soon as it can be done, a final return will be made and forwarded.

"This post has been frequently addressed as 'Fort Lewis on Rio la
Plata,' as will be seen from the enclosed portion of an envelope. I
respectfully ask if there is any authority for such designation."

More next week on the removal of Fort Lewis from Pagosa Springs.

Pagosa Sky
Watch

Venus to reach 'greatest
brilliancy,' Geminids in the offing

By James Robinson

Staff Writer

The following sun and moon data is provided
by the United States Naval Observatory.

Sunrise: 7:10 a.m.

Sunset: 4:50 p.m.

Moonrise: 12:47 p.m.

Moonset: 12:50 a.m. on Dec. 9.

Moon phase: The moon is at first quarter
tonight.

As winter settles in, the night sky is
becoming clearer but the nights are also markedly colder. For
hardcore sky watchers, cold nights mean less haze and the potential
for prime sky watching conditions. However, not all sky watchers are
keen on midnight, sub-freezing forays into the great outdoors.
Luckily, for those fair weather sky watchers, dusk still provides an
ideal time to view two of our closest planetary neighbors - Venus and
Mars.

If you have been observing the
south-southwestern sky at dusk, a solitary, bright, blue-white object
dominates the scene. The object is the planet Venus and it has been
appearing ever brighter throughout recent weeks.

The reason for the increased brightness is
because Venus has been gradually moving closer to Earth since the
planet's appearance in our evening sky last April. As Venus has moved
closer, it has grown more brilliant, and will reach "greatest
brilliancy" on Dec. 9.

Although currently burning bold and bright,
Venus' days as the brilliant "evening star" are numbered. As December
draws to a close, Venus will gradually slip from our night sky, and
after the new year, the planet will disappear for about a week,
ultimately returning to our pre-dawn sky as the "morning star."

Mars, the other visible planet at dusk, has
been burning a bold burnt orange in the eastern sky throughout
autumn. Although the planet is now dimmer than during its period of
peak proximity in late October, it is still visible and easy to
locate.

For those new to observing the red planet,
the moon on Dec. 10 will provide a useful landmark. Begin your
observations at around 6 p.m., and Mars can be found to the left of
the moon in the southeastern sky.

While the moon might be useful in locating
Mars during the weekend, it will prove problematic for sky watchers
wishing to view the Geminid meteor shower which peaks Dec. 14.

According to data from the U.S. Naval
Observatory, the moon will be waxing gibbous during the Geminid peak,
with about 96 percent of its visible disk illuminated. With the moon
nearly full, sky watchers will have difficulty observing all but the
brightest Geminids. However, if you should be lucky enough to see a
Geminid racing across the sky, bear in mind these are some of
youngest and most mysterious of all meteors.

Unlike the Perseids, which have been
observed and recorded since as early as 36 AD, the Geminids suddenly
appeared in our sky during the mid-1800s. The appearance of a new and
previously undocumented meteor shower quickly drew the attention of
astronomers who were intent upon discovering the shower's source.

Previous and contemporary astronomical
observations had linked most meteor showers to the Earth's passage
through a trail of cometary debris, and the race was on to locate the
comet that was providing the fodder for the Geminid shower.

Even after decades of diligent searching,
astronomers were left empty handed until 1983 when their fortunes
changed. In that year, using NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite,
researchers discovered an object moving in the same orbit as the
Geminid meteor stream. An analysis of the two orbital paths indicated
that the object's orbit, and the orbit of the Geminid stream, were a
near perfect match and astronomers were convinced they had found the
comet they had been searching for. But further observations soon
revealed the object was something different and it now appears the
source of the Geminid shower is an anomaly. What astronomers thought
was a comet is actually a huge asteroid, roughly 37 miles by 29
miles, which they now call 3200 Phaethon.

Unfortunately, 3200 Phaethon's label as an
asteroid is not exactly cut and dry. Observations indicate the
asteroid's elliptical orbit is cometary in nature, but its
composition is rocky like an asteroid. And the contradiction between
Phaethon's behavior and its composition have led to many theories and
much debate.

One of the early theories postulated that,
as Phaethon traveled through space, it crashed into other asteroids
and the fragments broken off in the collisions gave birth to the
Geminids. But following more detailed investigations of the orbits of
individual Geminids, this theory proved unlikely.

Following the debunking of the collision
theory, astronomers then theorized that perhaps bits and pieces of
the asteroid broke off when it passed near the sun, thus giving birth
to Geminid shower. However, during the passage, the asteroid does not
exhibit a comet-like tail.

As observations continued, another, and
perhaps the most widely accepted theory emerged. Perhaps Phaethon is
an extinct or dormant comet which has developed a thick crust over
time. This crust, comprised largely of dust, allows Phaethon to shed
the stuff of the Geminid shower and gives the object the rocky
outward appearance of an asteroid. At its core however, lies the
nucleus of the comet.

Until new observational technology is
developed or a craft can be landed on the asteroid, this theory can't
be proven and the full story of the Geminid source will remain a
mystery.

To view the Geminids, moonlight permitting,
you can start by locating the shower's radiant in the constellation
Gemini. Gemini will be fully visible by 10 p.m. Dec. 8, and can be
found almost directly north of the red supergiant, Betelgeuse in the
constellation Orion.

From Betelgeuse, travel in a line north and
slightly northeast to Gemini and the twin stars of Castor and
Pollux.

Pollux is the brightest star in the
constellation and is a magnitude 1.2 orange giant. Castor, which lies
directly to the west, or left of Pollux, appears to the naked eye as
a single, magnitude 1.6 blue-white star. However, investigations of
Castor with a telescope will reveal a multiple star with six separate
components.

With the radiant located, the next step is
to find an area of sky least affected by moonlight. If you are lucky
enough to witness a shooting, try to trace its trajectory to its
point of origin. If the point of origin is in Gemini, you have seen a
Geminid. Although the moon will be problematic, astronomers estimate
as many as 100 Geminids will streak across the sky per hour. These
numbers may give sky watchers the advantage needed to witness one of
the year's most prolific meteor showers.

Weather

Date High Low Precipitation

Type Depth Moisture

11/30

42

14

-

-

-

12/1

42

12

-

-

-

12/2

41

18

S

.75

.08

12/3

37

7

S

.75

.08

12/4

28

-1

-

-

-

12/5

25

-5

-

-

-

12/6

30

-2

-

-

-

Cold temps, little snow in
forecast

By John Middendorf

Staff Writer

Not much snow is expected in Pagosa for the upcoming week. Friday
should be cold and clear, similar to today, with temperatures warming
for the weekend with highs in the 40s and partly cloudy skies.
There's only a slim 20-percent chance of snow for the weekend. Next
week, expect more of the same: partly cloudy skies for the early part
of the week, clearing and getting colder the latter part of the week.

Ever wonder why it feels warmer when there are clouds present? It
has to do with radiation, one of the three main forms of heat
transfer, along with conduction and convection. When clouds are
present, they are warmer than the sky above, so the body loses less
heat through radiation (which is purely a function of the respective
temperatures of the bodies transferring heat, in this case, the body
and the sky). Nighttime clouds can also trap atmospheric heat, which
is probably why this weekend air temperatures are expected to be
warmer during the cloudy weather. The body also loses heat by
evaporation, which is related to humidity. Pagosa's humidity has been
peaking at around 70 percent, coinciding with the low temperatures of
the morning, and decreasing to about 30 percent in the afternoons.

Last weekend, the town received 1.5 inches of snow, officially.
The ski area naturally fared better with 16 inches of snow reported
over the weekend. The ski area continues to get some snow here and
there, even with clear skies in town, with another inch reported
Tuesday, bringing the total year-to-date accumulation of snow at Wolf
Creek to 57 inches (with a 33-inch base at the summit of the ski
area).

Temperatures last week ranged from a high of 42 degrees last
Thursday to a low of negative 5 degrees Monday morning, with Sunday
and Tuesday also reporting below-zero temperatures.

Fun Fact: Freezing rain is a term sometimes given to rain that is
supercooled to below freezing temperatures, but remains liquid. When
the droplets hit a surface, such as trees or a road, the supercooled
rain can then instantly turn to ice. A freezing rain can occur when
rain from a warmer cloud passes through a layer of air that is below
32 degrees F.